Domesticity
by Epona3
Summary: Based on my Sunshine and Rainbows and Weather Patterns series, but possibly a different universe. Annie and Auggie as parents.
1. The Beginning

_**Author's Note: Dear readers. I fear commitment. I'm not getting all personal and stuff, but when it comes to my stories, I fear jumping off a cliff that I can't go back and change my mind about. So when somebody asked that I do a story about Annie and Auggie as parents, I did. But then... I wasn't sure that my Sunshine and Rainbows/Weather Patterns series should really take that turn. Ever. That version of Annie and Auggie may end up as DINKS (double income no kids) or wait a long time to start a family. They may even move to Istanbul. **_

_**The point is, having a child is a major commitment, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to take all the background and push them in that direction. So, instead, I have created another story which is based on the S&R universe, where Annie and Auggie get all domesticified. Enjoy!**_

* * *

Annie wondered how long she would have to wish it away for it to stop being real. Then she wondered how horrible of a person she was to want it to stop being real. There were women desperately hoping for this. But not her.

Annie had been officially living at Auggie's place for a few months. For six months before that, she spent all her time at his apartment, so making it permanent only involved some changes in closet space and bedroom furniture. Since they had been sharing a space for so long, Auggie was accustomed to the noises of a Annie in the bathroom, with the opening and closing of her cosmetic products and wrappers from feminine products.

But on this Saturday morning, the noises were different. He could never explain it, but the sounds that Annie was making in the bathroom were not part of her normal routine. He walked to the bathroom and placed his hand on the doorway. "Everything okay?"

Annie took a sharp intake of breath that she may have been able to hide from anybody but him. He heard it, and she knew. "Yeah. Fine." She attempted to lie.

From her voice, Auggie knew she was standing, so he walked into the bathroom and put his hands on her arms. "Really?" He asked in tone that stated that he knew she wasn't telling the truth.

Under his touch, Annie knew that telling him would make things easier, even if they made it more real. She moved toward the bed. Sitting next to her best friend and lover, she saw the worry in his features. His caring face convinced her that she should be open and honest, just as soon as her tongue worked.

"It's... I just... Auggie, I'm pregnant."

A master at hiding his emotions, Annie watched the small changes in Auggie's face as he processed the news. They sat in silence for what felt like an hour, with Auggie's hand wrapped in Annie's. She was practically shaking, her nerves betraying her training. She squeezed his hand tighter.

Auggie forced a smile. "Wow."

"I've been using the ring. I know I was on that round of antibiotics after the mission a month ago, but we were careful. I don't know how this happened, but there is a little stick in our bathroom with two lines that says I'm pregnant and please say something because I'm freaking out."

Being calm when Annie needed him was Auggie's number one skill. Be calm. Say something to help her stay calm. Don't think about how your life just changed forever. "Shhhh." He said. He pulled his hand from hers and moved it to her face. "We'll work this out."

He pulled her in to his embrace and just held her there while she started to cry. He ran his fingers through her hair and thought about all the implications.

When her sobbing stopped and she was still in his arms, he rested his chin on her head and spoke. "I planned to talk about this tonight."

"Getting me pregnant?" Annie mumbled into his shirt.

Auggie laughed for a breath and pulled his body slightly away from hers. "No. I mean, well, this wasn't how I imagined, not that I imagined this, but not this, I mean..." Auggie slid off the bed, onto one knee in front of Annie. He kept one hand on her leg while he put the other into his pocket.

Annie gasped as he pulled out a small box, then started laughing. "Do you carry a ring around all the time, in case you find out I'm knocked up?"

Auggie laughed a nervous laugh. "Boy scouts taught me more than how to light a campfire. I was going to do this tonight." He explained. "Actually, I was going to do it in front of Danielle last week, or at Allen's on Tuesday, or last night when you got off the plane. I should probably stop worrying about timing, considering our lives and all, but I want you to know that even before this most recent development I really, really wanted you to marry me."

He opened the box and looked up toward her, almost directly into her eyes. She placed her hand on his face, her touch replacing the eye contact. She looked at the box and saw a simple diamond in an antique setting. "Diamond?" She asked.

"I'm not ditching my morals in regards to blood diamonds. This was mom's. I had a cubic zirconia replica made for your everyday wear. Not that I don't trust you, but you do have a lifestyle that isn't best suited for priceless heirlooms." Auggie reached into his pocket and pulled out another ring that looked exactly like the first.

"That may be changing." Annie said in a soft voice.

Auggie realized the implication, and quickly moved next to her on the bed. "Hey, it was just what I planned to say, I wasn't thinking..."

"It's okay." She responded. "And this is sort of a moot point, because your priceless family heirloom is already on my finger, but you never actually asked the question."

Auggie smiled and got back onto the floor. He found Annie's left hand and slid the ring off. Holding it in front of her he spoke. "Annie Walker, will you marry me?"

The ring was snatched from his fingers as a soft "Yes" reached his ears.


	2. In The End

_**Let's skip ahead, shall we?**_

* * *

"I understand how you speak three languages, but who in modern society learns Morse Code?" The girl asked.

"I thought it would be interesting," The guy responded. "Isn't that why you learned sign language?"

They were three hours into a college keg party. Both were sophomores at Cornell and had been talking together, away from the excitement of the other students, for at least an hour.

"There is a whole population, in America, that uses sign language. Morse Code hasn't been used since World War Two."

"You think? There's still a use for it in emergency response. Or when you are trying to discreetly send a message to the person next to you in class that you don't want others to hear."

The girl rolled her eyes. "That would require another person know it."

The boy grinned and took a sip of his beer.

"Have you ever actually used it? Like, buried in an avalanche or something?" She asked.

"Yes. Not in an avalanche. And I guess there were other options at the time. My dad taught me. It was like our secret language. My mom knew all the other ones."

"What kind of house did you grow up in?" The girl asked, intrigued. She barely knew the guy, except that they had several classes together. They were both studying foreign relations.

"There were several houses. Never too big. Usually simple."

She rolled her eyes at him again. "Ok, what sort of family did you grow up in?" She rephrased the earlier question.

"Oh. Well, you know, mother, father, no pets, lots of cousins throughout the country."

"In New York?" She asked.

"I have an uncle working here at Cornell, that's why I decided to come here. I needed to get away from my parents a little bit."

"So where do they live?"

"D.C."

"Ah. That explains why you are so passionate about politics."

"I'm hardly political. I just think that it's important to consider that there are more sides to each story."

"So your dad and the Morse Code - was he a spy?!" The girl seemed really excited about the idea.

Austin did not. He hid the surprise with a small grin. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." He stated smoothly. "Actually, my dad is blind."

Austin loved to watch people's reactions when they learned about his dad. There was such a range. Some immediately showed pity, some shock, but usually there was a range of confusion. Since he had gotten to college, the next question was almost always the same.

"So what was that like?" She asked, as if following a script.

"From what I know, it was pretty much like most childhoods. Except my mom drove on road trips." To this day, his dad still made jokes about his mom needing to drive.

"I bet you were able to get away with a lot." She said.

"Not really."

"Oh." She was starting to lose interest. Austin thought she was cute, so he decided to play along.

"Dad had his ways of making sure I stayed out of trouble. He works with computers and was always having his nerdy friends help him come up with something new to torture me. I swear that most of my childhood I had a GPS tracker on my body in some form. But I never really thought it was odd, because that's just _Dad._ I thought it was odd when we moved to DC and some kids' fathers threw balls at them. Mine taught me to wrestle."

"You're a wrestler?"

"You wanna find out?" He replied giving her a wink and a smile.

She giggled and started to blush.

Austin was growing up to be just like his dad.


	3. Leading the Way

_**Disclaimer: I know nothing about kids. They start talking at some point, they start making sentences at some point, they become real tiny people who you can have conversations with, and at some point we are considered "Adults." So if Austin doesn't act the appropriate age here (or in any of these stories) you can: **_

_**1) Consider that he is different because he's Annie and Auggie's kid, and they are far from normal, or **_

_**2) Write it off as me being an idiot when it comes to kids, and imagine that I never supplied an age.**_

_**Who knows if I'm able to keep this crazy timeline straight as I jump around with these. Here we go: **_

_**Austin, Age 4, in Istanbul, Turkey. **_

* * *

Auggie had never been so worried.

He was used to taking his own life in his hands. He was even used to having other people's fate in his hands. He was a care-taker. He was a survivor. He could talk people into anything.

He could not talk his four year old son into holding his hand.

"Austin, please." Auggie pleaded as he squatted in front of the boy. "Do this for me. Just take my hand. You can walk in front, if you want."

"No daddy." The voice said, stepping back from Auggie's touch and causing his stomach to churn. There were a lot of people around, and if the two of them were separated Auggie would have to make a scene.

Auggie lurched forward and found the sleeve of Austin' shirt. He hated the idea of keeping his kid on a leash, but the idea was sounding better and better.

"Daddy!" The child protested, trying to jerk away. "I want to walk alone!"

"Not today, buddy." Auggie wondered if he could carry the child back home, or if he would offer too much resistance.

"I get to walk alone with mommy."

"I doubt that. But I'm not mommy."

"You are meaner than mommy."

"I doubt that, too. But right now, I don't care. I need your hand, kiddo."

Auggie held his hand out, hopefully. "Why?" His son's voice asked.

"If you don't hold my hand, I don't know where you are."

"I'll stay next to you." The child explained.

Auggie took a deep breath. This was a conversation he and Annie had been having with their son frequently. "I'm sure you would, but remember what we told you about my eyes?"

There was silence, so Auggie wasn't sure if his son was thinking or moving his head. "Austin?"

"But the sun is out. It can't be dark." Austin replied.

Auggie pinched his lips together. "The light doesn't help me, kiddo. I can't see you, and if you don't hold my hand, I don't know where you are."

Again, he didn't hear any response from his son, so he took Austin's hand in his, and stood up straight. "Do you know the way home, kiddo?" Auggie asked.

"Mmm hmmm." Came the reply.

"How about you hold my hand, but I let you lead the way?"

"Like mommy?"

"Yes, like mommy."

"You don't hold mommy's hand." Austin said very authoritatively.

"Mommy is taller than you," Auggie replied.

"Hold my shoulder?"

"Sure," Auggie replied. It was a stretch, but it was only for a few blocks.

They walked forward, and Auggie kept his cane out. "Tell me what you see, kiddo. Anything in front of me?"

There was no answer, so Auggie hoped the coast was clear.

"Kiddo? Austin? Talk to me. If you want to lead, you need to tell me what you see."

"Okay daddy. I see lots of things."

"How about in front of you. Is there a bench?"

"Do you need to sit down?"

"No, I just need to know."

"This is my daddy, I'm leading him home." Auggie heard Austin explain, in Turkish, to a stranger on the street. Auggie tightened his grip and pulled his son to a stop.

"Hey. Let's talk a moment."

"Yeah?"

"If you want to lead, I need you to concentrate and help me out, okay?" Auggie explained.

"I was concentrating."

"Yeah? Look back here." Auggie pointed toward the direction where they just walked. "Do you see a pole?" Auggie had barely missed the obstruction that he felt with his cane.

"Yeah, but we walked around it."

"I know we did. But since this is your first time in charge, I want you to prove to me that you are paying attention by telling me what is around. Can you try that?"

"Yes daddy."

"Okay. Let's try this again." Auggie stood up and put his hand on his son's shoulder. He was then treated to the stream-of-consciousness of a four year old who knew multiple languages.

"There's a tree and a man and a bird and a woman with a baby and this is my daddy I'm telling him what I see. There the thing what's it called daddy? That thing?"

"Is it on the ground?" Auggie asked.

"Yes." The body beneath Auggie's hand moved to the left, and Auggie reached out. He felt the metal and immediately knew the answer.

"That's a fire hydrant. Good job noticing things, Austin."

They stood up and kept walking. Auggie knew they missed the turn for their house, but waited to see if Austin figured it out. It wasn't long before the little body stopped. "Um."

Auggie stayed quiet, wanting to see what his son was thinking.

"We need to go this way." The child stated as he turned around. "I forgot to turn."

"Good job, kiddo." Auggie was genuinely proud of his child's navigation skills.

"We aren't home yet. There's the tree with the large leaves, blue car, Miss Nazli's house with the flowers..."

As the descriptions continued, Auggie truly felt that he was learning more about the neighborhood in Turkey where his family had been living for two years. Annie had been his guide for so long that his surroundings were made up of the details she had decided to share. He never felt like he was missing anything, but hearing the world through the eyes of his young son reminded him of all the details that were around. He was a little sad that the descriptions would end when they reached their building.

"Here we are, daddy. The green building with three steps and lots of buttons to push on the door."

"Thanks, Kiddo. You were a huge help."

Auggie unlocked the door and up the flight of stairs. When they got to their apartment Austin ran inside. "Mommy! I got to lead Daddy home."

Annie caught the kid running toward her and squatted down to eye level. "Hey there Kiddo!"

"Daddy held my shoulder and I told him what I saw."

"Is that right?" She asked Auggie.

"My world has never been so colorful."


	4. Groceries

_**Age: 13**_

_**Location: Washington, DC**_

* * *

Usually the Andersons would go to visit the Brooks, but a few months after the Andersons moved back to DC, Danielle decided to come visit them.

After the initial hugs, Danielle grabbed Annie. "Auggie, Austin, if you boys don't mind, I'm taking Annie shopping."

"You just got here." Auggie replied.

"We won't be long. I promise." Danielle explained. "Come on, Annie."

Even though Katia and Chloe were long gone from Danielle's household, she knew how to direct people with a motherly tone. Auggie shrugged and gave Annie a kiss goodbye while he whispered in her ear "Try not to do too much damage."

Annie got in the driver's seat of the car. "So where are we going?"

Danielle laughed. "Whole Foods, of course."

Having not pulled out of the driveway yet, Annie glared at her sister. "You didn't even go in my kitchen."

"Did I really need to, Annie? I'm not judging. I just know that between you and Auggie there probably isn't anything in that house that didn't come from a box."

"Not true. Bananas do not come from a box!"

"I want to cook you guys a nice meal while I'm here. Is that too much to offer?"

"Okay." Annie acquiesced. "But you are not doing a complete overhaul of our kitchen."

Danielle smiled. "I wouldn't dare."

Annie didn't trust her grin, and once they got to Whole Foods (which Annie had to look up on the GPS to find) she sent Auggie a warning text.

When the women returned home with two big bags of groceries, Auggie played along and pretended not to know where they had been.

"Austin, how bad does it look?" He teased.

"Not bad at all, Dad. They each only have one bag and Mom's in the same shoes as when they left."

Auggie grinned. "Did you ladies have a good trip?"

"My sister and I have distinctly different ideas in regards to shopping." Annie replied.

"You're going to love it, Auggie." Danielle stated as she walked toward the kitchen.

"Did you buy lingerie?" Auggie quipped.

"Ew," Austin interjected as he prompted his dad to follow the women into the kitchen.

Auggie went to the refrigerator and leaned against the door while Annie and Danielle unpacked the bags on the counter.

With produce in hand, Danielle walked toward him. "Excuse me, Auggie. I need to get into the fridge."

Auggie stood still, his legs spread and arms crossed.

"I'm not sure I can let you do that."

"Come on, Auggie."

"The last time you were in our fridge we ended up throwing out half the normal food because I forgot it was there."

"First, that wasn't the last time. It was eleven years ago, before you went to Turkey. I'm more aware of the little things now. Second, I'm here for three days, you can't guard the fridge forever."

"We could set up an alarm." Austin suggested.

Auggie smiled. "That's my boy."

"Do you ever worry that the two of them will gang up on you?" Danielle asked Annie, seeing the bond between father and son.

"Worry? They gang up on me all the time." Annie replied. "Luckily they usually only use their powers for good. You should have seen some of the 'upgrades' they installed at our last place."

Danielle smiled. "Well, for the good of your stomach, may I please be granted access to the fridge?"

Auggie uncrossed his arms and reached out, palm up. "Hand over the food and I'll put it away."

"Fine." Danielle responded as a bunch of asparagus landed in his hand. He turned and opened the door and heard Danielle's gasp.

"What?" He asked with a straight face. He could hear Austin suppressing a giggle.

"I've never seen so many takeout boxes in my life!"

"Those were _not_ in there earlier." Annie explained, rolling her eyes at Danielle's accusatory glare.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Auggie stated as he reached for the produce drawer, one part of the fridge that he and Austin hadn't stuffed with empty boxes while the women were shopping.

"Undo it, boys. Or the fancy sausages she bought for tomorrow night will go to waste."

Auggie grinned. "Fine. But I still want to put the groceries away. Last time she left some fancy cream where we always keep the milk and I put it on my cereal."

"It wasn't fancy. It was just cream. And you know you liked it on your cereal."

Auggie smiled. "I had to spend an extra hour in the gym, and I don't have that sort of time these days."

"Fine. Here is a bottle of Chardonnay. Don't put it on your cereal."

* * *

_**Reviews? Prompts? Or are you all just so inspired that you are running off to write your own stories? **_


	5. Package

_**Thanks for all the reviews, folks! I didn't plan to devote so much effort to this series, but I have not been able to stop writing in this little universe, so you are getting more. I'm going to try to go from young Austin to Older Austin each chapter, but who knows how long that will last. My muse seems to really enjoy older Austin. **_

_**Today, you get Fetal Austin.**_

* * *

"Any idea what this is?" Said the text that accompanied Auggie's picture message. Annie was at a dinner to keep her cover secure while he went home to find a package at their door. He wasn't expecting anything, and occasionally the deliveries were left at the wrong apartment, so he didn't want to open it up without checking.

"Return address is Danielle. Open it!" Annie texted back.

Auggie carefully cut through the tape and opened up the box. There was a notecard on top that he set carefully aside, and he pulled out the contents and set them all on the counter.

When Annie got home an hour later, Auggie was sitting on the couch and an array of baby products was scattered on the counter.

"It seems early for your sister to be sending us gifts." Auggie stated, waving a hand at the goods. "There's a card to the far left."

Annie picked up the card and looked at the objects. There was a life sized baby doll, some unisex clothes, cloth diapers, a bottle, and other various baby _things_.

"She says this is our training kit. To practice dressing the baby and stuff."

Auggie got up and walked toward her. "That was thoughtful."

"She threw in cloth diapers. That's ambitious."

"Those sound disgusting."

"She did it with both girls."

"Yeah, but she probably had a washing machine, and knew how to use it."

"True." Annie replied. "I guess we have a lot of those decisions to make."

"We have time." Auggie said as he ran his fingers over the doll.

Annie swallowed. "I'm starting to show."

Auggie turned toward her and pinched his eyebrows together. "I should have noticed."

"No, it's not really visible. I only noticed because my pants felt tight. I'm going to have to get some maternity clothes soon."

"It's only supposed to be the size of a grape."

"I guess my body is getting ready for it to be the size of a kumquat." Annie replied. They had enjoyed the listing of food comparisons to track the growth of their baby, and Annie had to already take a stand against naming the child "Kumquat."

Auggie nodded and turned back to the doll.

Annie recognized his change in mood. He had been this way frequently since a month ago when the doctor confirmed that Annie was five weeks pregnant. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Stop worrying so much." She stated.

"I feel like I should be doing more."

"There is only so much the father can ever do."

Auggie turned in her arms and hugged her tight. "Tell Danielle I said thank you. I'll practice dressing the doll so I don't maim our Kumquat."

"I think she was worried about me just as much as you." Annie replied.

Auggie shrugged. "If you say so."

"Let's box this stuff back up for now, and start a baby supply corner where we put the Christmas tree."

Auggie nodded and helped place the items back into the box. He carried it to the corner and went back to Annie.

"Did they feed you enough at the dinner? I could make you something."

"I'm fine. Let's have a bedtime story and go to bed."

Auggie had the audio version of the baby books, but he and Annie had chosen one to read together throughout the pregnancy. Annie wasn't allowed to go into the field, so for once the couple could have a consistent nightly ritual. After they crawled into bed, Annie would read a chapter out loud. This night, Auggie curled into Annie's side and ran his hand over her belly while she read about sleep schedules.

At the end of the chapter, he stilled his hand and looked toward her. "We can do this." He said with confidence. In that moment, Annie and Auggie agreed that they would be fantastic parents, and would never doubt their own capabilities again.

Or, at the very least, for another week.


	6. The Recruit

_**Request: Austin is recruited by the CIA**_

_**Age: 18**_

_**Location: Ithaca, NY **_

* * *

Austin grew up around spies. He may not have known that they were spies until his parents sat him down at age fourteen and explained their careers to him, but when he moved to college it was obvious how different the world was when not manufactured by the CIA.

Which is how he immediately knew that the older student that sat in front of him in the Cornell cafeteria was a part of the Agency.

Maybe it was the posture. Maybe it was the way this guy had been watching from a distance for the past week, or maybe Austin had his own sixth sense when it came to these things, but he had no problem making eye contact between bites of his sandwich and asking "Do my parents know you are here?"

"We need your help, Austin."

"Again. Do my parents know you are here?" He asked with an eye roll and disinterest while distractedly played with his cell phone on the table next to his food.

"You're an adult. They don't need to know."

"You really think so? The only reason you would come to me instead of them is if you don't think they would want me doing whatever it is you are here to tell me about."

"That's not it at all. We just thought you would prefer the independence."

Austin huffed. "Whatever. My answer is 'No.'"

The man wasn't deterred. "We only need-"

"The answer is 'NO.'" Austin interrupted.

"We just need information on Professor Dursett."

"My advisor? Are you kidding me?"

"You have to admit, it's not hard for you to get close to him."

"Which I'm sure is a complete coincidence." Austin sneered back.

"You wouldn't have to worry about tuition. Even through grad school."

"I'm not worried about tuition now."

"You could be."

"Are you threatening me? Or are you threatening my parents?"

"Here is some information. See what you think, and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

He slipped a thumb drive across the table and Austin left it there while he finished his lunch. He knew his father had heard the whole conversation, and was glad that he was nowhere near Langley at that moment.

...

Auggie only had to go a few offices down the hall to get to the office of the DCS. Despite the protests from the receptionist, he stormed in without knocking.

"I know we are not a completely reputable organization, and that lines are crossed every day, but I cannot believe that you crossed this one behind our backs. Did you really think we wouldn't find out?"

The DCS, a man only a few years older than Auggie who took over after Arthur's retirement, stared back at his angry colleague. "Auggie, I truly have no idea what you are talking about."

"Bullshit." Auggie practically spit at the man.

"I don't have time to bullshit you on this today. What are you talking about?"

"Somebody just approached my son, asking him to collect intelligence on his advisor."

"That's troubling on more than one level. Tell him to get to the safehouse-he does know about the closest safehouse, right?"

"He's not a fucking idiot." Auggie sneered.

"Didn't think so, just wasn't sure how prepared he was. Get him to the safehouse and get your wife. Austin's advisor is an agent, if somebody is after him, they aren't on our side."

Auggie's anger redirected quickly, and he was out the door without another word, recording a text message to his son before he was at the elevator. Pushing through the doors to the DPD he shouted "I need Annie, NOW."

Annie's heart lurched when she heard her husband from her desk inside the Director's office. She was in the bullpen in two strides. "Is Austin ok?" She asked, knowing the whole department was watching and listening as she closed the distance to get to her husband.

"He's fine. Come with me." His tone was soothing and terrifying at the same time. Annie noticed that he was somewhat pale, as well.

She followed him to the elevator where he pushed the button for the seventh floor. "Then what's going on?" She asked during their brief moment of privacy.

Auggie tried to use a soothing tone as he explained. "Austin was approached to collect intelligence today. After I tried to tear Whitman a new one, I learned that it wasn't us."

"Oh." Annie replied, suddenly feeling light headed.

When the elevator doors opened, they both walked with purpose to the office of the DCS.

Auggie's phone pulsed once. Normally he was more discreet at work, but this time he simply pushed the button for the text to be read aloud. "New text from Austin Anderson. Done." The robotic voice read too quickly for anybody else to understand.

"He's at the safehouse." Auggie explained, thankful that one was set up so close to campus.

Annie released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

The small group of high level CIA officials reviewed the details of the situation, listening to Auggie's recording of the conversation and talking with Austin at the safehouse.

"You know what we are going to suggest, and you aren't going to like it." Whitman stated.

"No." Annie and Auggie replied in unison. If it were anybody but their son, they would have made the same suggestion. Austin needed to engage with the person again to gather more information.

"I would tell you to head to upstate New York yourselves, but the thing is that we aren't sure this guy really knows who you are. Austin outed you, and this guy may have just played along well. We need to figure out why he targeted your boy, but it's not obvious to me that he knew Austin had CIA connections."

"That wasn't a random contact." Auggie replied.

"We need more information, Auggie. For your son's protection, and yours."

"Just worry about his protection." Annie replied. "We'll take care of ourselves."

Annie suggested that the mission be managed from the DPD. Auggie's position as the head of tactical operations was powerful, but left him with less hands-on involvement with the whole op team. Annie had her team that she trusted whole heartedly in the DPD, and Auggie knew them well enough to agree. He canceled his schedule for the next two days and stayed arm in arm with Annie while they coordinated and executed Austin's first CIA mission.

If it were any other operative, they would have been more than happy with the results. Austin handled the meet smoothly, had no problem dropping a tracker onto the suspect, and left with the other party none the wiser. He truly didn't know why his parents were being so nervous.

"The kid has skills." The best handler on Annie's staff stated. "He would be a great addition to the Agency."

"No." Annie and Auggie stated in unison.

"What a waste."


	7. The First Outing

Auggie carried the diaper bag and Annie carried the baby carrier. It was a Tuesday night, so the crowd was small. Almost everyone there was one of their friends. They walked in and sat Austin on their usual table, and suddenly he was surrounded by grown men, and a couple of women, in various states of unease.

"Dude. I can't believe you brought your baby to a bar." Eric said.

"We aren't actually going to let him have a beer." Auggie replied. "Besides, it's not like we could bring him to the office, and we wanted you to meet him."

"We could have come to your house." Eric replied.

Auggie pinched his lips together and looked toward his friend. "Eric, I say this knowing that you know I respect you and consider you a good friend. But the thought of how much damage you could do in my house, only for a couple of hours, is enough for me to never want you to know our new address."

"4602 North-"

"Please." Auggie held a hand up. "Let's pretend we are normal people for a night."

"How can we do that when you brought a baby to a bar?" Eric asked.

Auggie rolled his eyes and tried to figure out where Annie had gone. Hearing her talk to Reva about the outfit Austin was wearing, he tapped her shoulder. "You want a beer?" He asked.

"I better not. It's one thing when I'm driving us home, it's another with him in the backseat. But you go ahead and enjoy yourself."

"I don't have to." Auggie replied. He had abstained during the pregnancy, in support of Annie's inability to drink.

"Babe, we're here to unwind a little. Really. Enjoy yourself."

Auggie gave her a chaste kiss, and walked to the bar. He leaned forward, hoping he still knew the staff.

"Finally got one of these girls pregnant, huh Auggie?" A familiar voice carried across the bar.

He mocked offense and held up his left hand. "One of these girls? You are talking about my wife!"

"Don't pretend you haven't taken more than one woman home from here in your wilder days." The voice was close, and softer.

"Don't pretend Annie is just one of those girls."

The bartender smiled at the man before her, who seemed genuinely happy. "I'm happy for you, Auggie. Have you gotten any sleep since the little one was born?"

"I was never big on sleep in the first place."

A cold bottle pressed against his hand that rested on the counter. "First beer is on the house, to help you sleep. Need anything for your baby momma?"

"Yeah. She doesn't want to drink tonight, so could you take a cocktail glass and make a tonic water and cranberry that looks sinful?"

She laughed. "Sure thing. You go hang with your child's adoring fans and I'll bring it over to her."

"You're the best." Auggie replied with a wink before returning to his wife. Conversation around the baby was centered on what seemed to be the most popular subject for people, upon seeing a new baby: comparing it's features to that of the parents. Auggie both loved and hated the game. While he was not able to really contribute, it was fun to hear the visual descriptions.

"At least he didn't get Auggie's ears." Annie was saying as he walked up.

Auggie pouted and cupped a hand over one ear. "Hey!"

Annie grabbed his ear gently and pulled. "At least he has your hair, in case the ears keep growing."

"My big ears come in handy."

"I think he has Auggie's eyebrows." Eric stated.

"He's six weeks old. How can he have my eyebrows?" Auggie asked.

"They are thick."

Auggie huffed. "The only reason hers aren't is that she spends five minutes in front of a mirror every morning pulling them out."

"Even if I went au natural, mine wouldn't look like yours." Annie explained.

...

Later, they said goodbye to their friends and took Austin, who had fallen asleep in the middle of all the commotion, home.

"That went well." Auggie said.

"Yeah. I'm glad we came."

"Traveling with the baby doesn't seem so hard. Did you have any problems?"

"Changing his diaper was awkward."

"Well, we know better for next time."

"We aren't regularly bringing our baby to Allen's, dear."

"I'm not saying we should. It's just... God it felt nice to get out of the house!"

Annie laughed. "You're telling me. At least you've gone back into the office. If it weren't for my daily walk around the neighborhood, I would have gone completely nutty by now."

"We will make sure that doesn't happen." Auggie responded.

* * *

_**Thanks for all the feedback and inspiration, folks! Keep it coming! **_


	8. Scholarships

_**I've been sitting on this one a few days, because I love it so much and wanted it to just be perfect. I'm looking at a stressful Saturday afternoon, though, so I thought some reviews might help me get through things. **_

* * *

**Age: 17**

**Location: Washington, DC**

* * *

It was late in his junior year of high school, and Austin was certain he wanted to go to Cornell. Since Auggie's brother was a professor there, Austin's favorite cousin could attend for free. While Annie and Auggie prepared to pay for college, there was no way they could afford an Ivy League school for four years. So if Austin was going to go, he had to be able to win scholarships.

Auggie was still at work, helping with some international affairs that required odd shifts for the week. Austin was on a laptop in the kitchen while Annie folded clothes.

"Oh wow. I found the mother-load." Austin exclaimed.

"What is it?" Annie asked.

"Special scholarships for children of veterans." Austin explained.

"Oh." Annie replied, less than enthusiastically. "I didn't think about that. Are there a lot of them?"

"It looks that way. There are lots of options."

Austin was quiet for a moment while he read through the list.

"Mom?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"Did dad get a Purple Heart?"

Annie stopped folding and walked over to her son. "Yes."

"Does he still have it?"

"I honestly don't know. I've never seen it."

"But a Purple Heart is a pretty big deal." Austin stated.

"You should talk to your dad about it." Annie replied. She honestly didn't know what Auggie would think of the conversation. The only time she talked to him about his Purple Heart was the night he explained how he lost his sight.

"I don't think he would want to talk about it." Austin stated.

"What do you mean?"

"He always evades when I ask about Iraq. I just want to know what it was like, what war was like."

"You know what Iraq is like, we went there last year." It wasn't a typical family vacation, but with relative calm in the Middle East, Annie and Auggie thought it would be a great experience for Austin. It didn't hurt that the Agency needed the couple to run a simple errand in the area.

"But that was the new Iraq. I've tried to ask him about the Iraq that he saw. The way it was during the war."

"I don't think there is much to talk about."

"There has to be. I mean, dad was a soldier. He has to have great stories to tell. But I don't know anything about what he did in the war."

Annie pinched her lips and looked at her son. How could she explain to him that she knew almost as little as him when it came to Auggie's time as a soldier? She sat next to him. "Your dad was one of the best. I got to see him with some of the men from his old unit, and they trusted him like-"

"Mom, I don't care what others think of him or what you have heard. I would just like, for once, to know something about the action. You and dad both have had these lives that they make movies about, but I don't get to know about them. I don't know if my parents are at a desk all day or killing Russians while I'm at wrestling practice."

"Your dad has lousy aim." Annie stated.

"But you?" Austin asked.

"You know I can't tell you that, sweetie. That's the problem. Your dad and I, whatever adventures we have or have not had, we can't tell anybody about them."

"But you can tell each other." Austin stated. "I'm the only one in this household that doesn't know about the super-secret adventures."

"We can't tell each other everything." Annie clarified. "Your father and I have both kept secrets from each other. We both still keep secrets from each other."

Austin sighed and looked back at the screen of his laptop. "Anyways. There are scholarships for children of soldiers awarded a Purple Heart. I'll talk to dad about it later."

...

It was three days before Austin could talk to his dad about the scholarships.

"How are things going, Kiddo?" Auggie asked.

"I've been looking at scholarships, and I think I found some that might be appropriate."

"Yeah? That sounds good." Auggie was concentrating on finding a container of yogurt in the fridge.

"There are a few I wanted to ask you about. They are for children of veterans awarded a Purple Heart."

Auggie stopped and moved toward his son. "Well then, you qualify." He stated, flatly.

"You never told me about that."

"We told you that I lost my sight in the war. There isn't much more to tell."

"The fact that you have the military's highest honor?"

"It's hardly the highest. I was injured. That's all it takes. It's been awarded to millions of others. I've met enough people that got them to know they are as much of a curse as an award."

"What do you mean?" Austin asked.

Auggie sighed and leaned onto the counter across from his son. "Austin, war is about killing. On a grand scale it's about political change and whatever other bull comes down from the politicians, but on the ground, it is about killing. Some people come home just fine, some come home injured, and many die. Odds are those that were injured were close to those that died. The ones that die deserve their Purple Hearts."

This was one of those moments where his dad almost directly made eye contact, freaking Austin out. "And you don't?" was all he replied.

"Kiddo, I know I've never told you about my time over there, but the day I was injured, a lot of other things happened that were far more important than me losing my sight." Auggie walked around the counter and sat next to Austin.

"Does that make your sacrifice any less real?"

"No." He replied, appreciating his son's logic. "But I'm not going to show off a medal that I got on equal terms with men that fell around me. Their children need those scholarships more than you."

"Can I see it?"

Auggie tipped his head down and swallowed. "No." He replied gently.

He heard Austin get frustrated, taking a deep breath.

"Not that I wouldn't be happy to show it to you, but I don't have it anymore."

Austin sighed. "Is it in the CIA vault like everything else I can't see?" His parents never told him about the vault, but once they told him they were CIA agents, he learned as much as he could about the Agency.

Auggie laughed. "No, I actually could have kept this one. But I didn't want to. Go get your mom and I'll tell you both what happened to it."

As he heard Austin jog out of the room, he went to the fridge and got a beer. He didn't want to tell any of his stories, but with so little that he could actually share with his son, it didn't feel right to keep this one to himself, as well.


	9. April 1

**_***I totally thought Sunday, March 31, was actually April 1.***_**

**_Thanks for all the concern and reviews yesterday. It was nothing bad, just too much booked on my Saturday! I'm all rested up now, with a little barely proof-read fluff. _**

**_Ages: Various_**

**_Locations: Various_**

* * *

Danielle was holding Austin at around 9 months old. "He turned out so cute, Annie. I knew the two of you would make a gorgeous baby."

Annie rolled her eyes. Her sister had come with the girls while they were out for Spring Break. While she enjoyed the visit, she was ready for them to go home so she and Auggie could get back to their normal life. "Well, you know, we're just happy that he turned out healthy, all things considered."

"What do you mean?" Danielle asked. Annie never told her there were any complications with the pregnancy.

"Well, I mean, with Auggie's situation and all, and the fact that it can be passed sexually..."

"What? You thought Austin might be blind?" Danielle looked at Annie, then back at the little baby staring at her.

"Not exactly, it's just - you know how I always told you Auggie lost his sight in Iraq?"

"Yeah. An IED."

"Well," Annie checked to make sure he was still in the other room. "The thing is, that's just what he tells people."

"What?" Danielle nearly shrieked.

Annie shushed her. "He would kill me if he knew I was telling you this, but there was no IED."

"How did he.. I can't believe you..." Danielle moved her voice to a whisper. "...was it a CIA thing?"

Annie shrugged. "Not directly. You see, he lost his sight due to complications from an advanced stage of Syphilis."

Danielle's jaw dropped. Annie had never seen her so silent. She tried to form words, but no sound came out. Then she saw the calendar and the grin spread across Annie's face. "You so had me."

"And for that, I'm offended." Auggie said as he walked into the room.

"April Fools!" Annie said.

"It was a little more funny with Danielle than the time that you used that story to get the girl to stop talking to me at the bar."

"Oh, that was good and you know it."

"I didn't think so at the time!"

...

"Um, so, before we can go to the dance together, my parents have demanded that they meet you." Austin explained to his date for the middle school dance.

"Okay. Why are you acting like that's a big deal?" She asked.

"Well, the thing is, you know my dad's blind, right?"

"Sure. I saw him at the holiday open house, with the stick."

"It's a cane. So yeah, that's the big deal. The thing is that when he meets my close friends, he really wants to know them. So he will want to feel your face."

"Really?"

"It's pretty much the only way he can really know you and stuff. He has to feel your face to put a memory with you. But he's totally gentle about it."

"Um." There was a long silence. "If that's the only way..."

"I mean, there are some other ways he can get a mental picture. We could make a portrait of you using macaroni art. Your hair would look great in rigatoni."

"What?!"

"Dad loves macaroni art."

"Are you messing with me?"

Austin kept a straight face. "I don't know, am I?"

"I think you are messing with me!"

"April fools!"

...

It had been a busy spring for Austin, and he was just getting back from Spring Break, where he had spent a week rock climbing in the mountains with some of his friends. His mom called early in the morning, one of the rare chances she knew that she would catch him.

"Hello?" Austin said, still half asleep.

"Are you awake, kiddo?"

"Yeah. I think."

"It's been a while since we've talked to you, I wanted to check in."

"Yeah. Um. Yeah."

"Are you sure you're awake, because I actually have something important to talk to you about."

"I'm awake." He responded more clearly this time.

"So, I know we haven't talked to you in a while. Your dad has actually been undergoing some _treatment._"

"Treatment?" Austin asked, confused.

"It's hard to explain, but there's this hybrid technology that he qualified for, where they combined stem cell technologies with nanotech, and, well, he had the surgery two weeks ago."

"Dad had surgery? On his _eyes_?" Austin was wide awake now.

"Yeah. It's been... crazy. He really wants to see you."

"It was successful?"

"Mostly. There are a few glitches that he is working out with the nanotech himself. But yeah, your dad can see."

"Oh wow." There was a lot of silence on the line. "So, this would be a good time to go ahead and tell you guys about the tattoo I got on the front of my neck last week..."

"Please tell me that story is as true as your mom's." Auggie's voice came on the line.

"What, no nanotech dad?"

"No tattoo son?"

"April Fools, darling. You should call us more often." Annie stated.

"I'll do that, mom."

* * *

_**Can I tell you how long I've been trying to work in the syphilis joke? Sheesh. Auggie just wouldn't hit on any women in the bar while Annie was around, so I had to wait until April Fools!**_

_**Also, I hate April Fools. Be aware, folks! **_


	10. Driving

_**Seriously, you guys, I thought yesterday was April 1. Do you know how stressful it is to go through TWO consecutive days where you are on constant guard for pranks? Sheesh. Stressful! **_

* * *

"Ah. Finally. Another driver in the household. Where should we go without your mom first? I was thinking somewhere completely inaccessible from the Metro, like Ikea." Auggie said, wrapping his arm around his son's shoulders.

"Auggie, he has to have a _licensed driver_ in the car with him at all times." Annie said, for the fifth time that week.

"You've mentioned that, dear. That's why I had..." He moved behind and put his hands over Austin's ears "...somebody in Cover Ops..." he whispered before removing his hands, "... make me this." Auggie reached into his pocket and pulled out a card.

"You know I can still hear when you do that, right dad?" Austin said as Auggie held the card out for Annie.

"Haven't we taught you about 'Plausable Deniability?'" Auggie asked.

"I know nothing." Austin replied.

"You are ridiculous, Auggie." Annie said as the looked at the driver's license that Auggie had handed over.

"I'm a genuis, dear. He's only allowed to drive with his permit during the day, so I'll always wear my sunglasses, and if he gets pulled, I'll hope we don't have to leave the car."

"And if you do?" Annie asked.

Auggie rolled his eyes. "I've thought through the worst case scenario, and I'm comfortable with the risk."

Annie made a noise that could only come from a mother who has given up a fight temporarily. "You haven't ridden with him yet. It might be scary."

"I've ridden with you for almost twenty years now, can it be -" Austin elbowed his father before his mother threw something in their direction.

"Watch yourself, Anderson." Annie said, coldly.

Auggie pinched his lips together and smiled. "Okay then. To celebrate this milestone, how about we have Austin be our designated driver for the night?"

"What?" Austin exclaimed.

"I do like the way you are thinking, dear." Annie stated.

"I don't!" Austin said.

"You don't want to drive?" Auggie asked.

"For starters, this means I have to get you home before dark. That's around 8 PM these days."

"Saturday, then." Auggie said. "How long has it been since we went day-drinking, honey?"

"Too long." Annie replied.

...

Saturday morning the family loaded up the car and put Austin behind the wheel. It was scarier for Auggie than he had expected. If they got out of DC alive, it might be worth the adventure, but so far the kid was nothing but acceleration and brakes.

Auggie was rarely a "backseat driver" but while riding with Austin he was nothing but running commentary. It was as though a fatherly instinct had kicked in, and even though Auggie couldn't do the driving himself, he could micro-manage the young man behind the wheel from his position in the back seat. Annie had drawn the line at letting Auggie take shotgun, at least while she was in the car.

"The key is to accelerate coming out of the turn. Never, ever, hit the brakes once you are into the turn. Brake before the curve, accelerate when you hit the sweet spot - umph." Auggie fell to the side as Austin came out of a turn fast and jerky. "Good try. Less acceleration next time."

"Please slow down, there are brake lights ahead." Annie chimed in, trying to make sure they survived. "And take the next right."

"Why are we going so slow?" Auggie asked after the turn.

"So I don't throw you into the door again." "Because it's a one-lane driveway" Austin and Annie replied simultaneously.

A half-hour later the family was sitting on a hillside with a picnic lunch, a bottle of wine, and a bottle of water for Austin.

"After that ride, your father and I need a drink." Annie explained.

"You definitely got your driving skills from your mother." Auggie said.

"Hey!" Annie loosely punched him in the arm. "He's a better driver than you."

"I used to be a great driver." Auggie said, playfully.

"So you say. I bet if I talked to your father we could get the real story." Annie teased, giving Austin a wink.

"Fifteen years passed between the last time he was in a car with me and when I lost my sight."

"Excuses, excuses."

Auggie took a sip of the wine and looked toward Annie. "There may be some people at work that rode with me long ago."

"I'm sure you were great." Annie said.

The family sat in the grass for another hour, enjoying the atmosphere and the food. Auggie was a bit more relaxed when they got back into the car.

"If we are going to get back before dark, we need to leave soon." Annie stated.

Auggie nodded and took the last sip of his wine. They picked up their trash and walked together to the car. There was far less backseat driving on the trip home. Austin took it slow, and actually accelerated at the right time for a few curves coming down the hills.

As they got closer to the city, Auggie became talkative again. "Without looking, what color is the car behind you?"

"I... uh..." Without thinking, Austin looked.

"Okay, is there anybody in your blind spot?"

Auggie could hear Austin look over his shoulder. "No."

"Hm." Auggie thought as he sat back against his seat.

"Babe. He just got his permit last week. I'll teach him evasive maneuvers soon enough."

"Are you paying attention? What if we're being tailed?"

"Of course I'm paying attention. Traffic is light, and the same car hasn't been behind us for more than a minute."

"Why do we need to worry about a tail?" Austin asked.

"No reason." Annie replied.

"Is somebody after us?"

"No," Auggie replied, putting on what had become his father voice. "It's just good to always know your surroundings. If something happened to the car in front of you, you need to know if you can jump into the other lane or not. Keeping a constant watch over where all the other cars are around you could make a difference in a moment like that."

"Oh."

"But you don't need to worry about any of that right now," Annie added. "Just stay in this lane, and keep a good distance from that car in front of you, and we'll all get home safely.

"Okay mom."

"And no matter what he says, don't go driving with your father for a few weeks."

"Anne Catherine, taking away all my fun."

"Keeping my boys alive, sweetheart."

* * *

_**I know I've been ridiculously good about posting something for this every day, but that's been a fluke. The next few days I have to actually do some other writing in my spare time, so there may or may not be updates. And I'm trying to get another chapter of Overt going, as well. So I apologize in advance if there is a bit of silence... **_


	11. But really

_**Evidently I wrote this long ago and never posted!**_

* * *

After Annie accepted Auggie's proposal, they kissed passionately. Annie was breathless when they pulled apart.

"I'm still pregnant." She stated.

"Yeah." Auggie replied. The reality was terrifying.

"My career is over."

Auggie's stillness was almost frightening. "There are operatives that have made it work." He stated.

"Were they married to other operatives?" Annie asked.

"I don't remember."

"Were they good mothers?"

"That's hard to know."

"How long did they last?"

Auggie sighed. "Has there ever been an operative pulled off the farm early that had a successful career? Has there ever been a blind operative? Have a handler and agent ever been in this close of a relationship for this long without complications? Annie, we have lives that can't be compared to any previous norms."

"Yet here we are, about to be parents. Something pretty normal for a couple our age."

"Are you saying we should start trying to be normal? Because I know you just accepted my proposal, but you may want to reconsider if that's the case."

Annie was quiet a moment, then swallowed. "I'm scared, Auggie." Her quiet voice almost cracked with the words.

He pulled her close again, wrapping her with his embrace and placing his chin on the top of her head. "That makes two of us," He stated quietly.

For the next half-hour they simply held each other and didn't try to pretend that they were less than terrified.

...

"So, what comes next?" Auggie asked. The shock wasn't going to wear off anytime soon, but they did eventually have to go on with their lives.

"I don't know anything about this. I think we get a full weekend of freaking out, then I go to a doctor and try to get him to tell me it was a false positive."

"Is that possible?" Auggie asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"You know as much as me. The box says it is 99.7% accurate."

"Is there something with the test that says what the inaccurate answers are? Should we get another test? Another brand, maybe?"

Auggie heard a paper being pulled from a cardboard box. "I'm looking right now. But no matter what it says, odds are that we are pregnant."

"As soon as you go to the doctor, Joan will be notified."

"Great." Annie replied. "If stress causes miscarriages, we may not have to worry about anything by the end of the weekend."

Auggie closed his eyes and bit his lip. Unsure of himself, he asked "We won't wish for that, right?"

"Right." Annie replied. "Because we are ridiculously intelligent people who can adapt, succeed, pick locks and we can handle raising a child."

"Pick locks?" Auggie grinned.

"I don't know. Maybe I'd feel better if we made a list of skills that will come in handy for parenting. Like, a list of our strengths. Ignore our weaknesses for now. Just all the reasons we will be fine with parenting."

"Okay." Auggie replied. He pulled out his iPhone and navigated to a notepad.

"Reasons not to be scared." Auggie dictated. The words appeared on the screen.

Annie and Auggie both sat in silence for a solid minute.

"I have one." Annie stated. Auggie pushed the button for her to dictate to his phone. "My sister has raised two girls, and will be only a phone call away."

"Right."

They sat in silence for another minute. Before Auggie pushed the button to dictate again. "We are financially stable."

"Good one." Annie replied. Even if she couldn't be a spy, she could easily get another job and make even more money. "I have another." She waited for the phone. "We are fast learners."

"Yeah. Whatever it takes to be a parent, we can learn it." Auggie agreed.

"And we're observant." Annie added.

"You're observant." Auggie corrected.

"You will notice the little things, too. Don't discount your perception skills."

"Ok, then we're perceptive."

"We're hungry." Annie stated next.

"What does that have to do with parenting?" Auggie asked with a grin.

"I don't know, but it's true. For me at least. Do we still have pizza from last night?"

"I think so."

Annie pulled out the box of leftover pizza and heated up a slice.

"So how are you feeling?" Auggie asked.

"Still a little freaked out." Annie replied.

Auggie rolled his eyes. "Have you been sick?"

"I've been tired. And a little nauseous, but nothing major. I only thought to take the test because I'm late."

"But you are late a lot." Of course, Auggie knew her cycles.

"Yeah. I take a test every time I'm late. That's why I was so shocked."

Auggie heated up a slice and pulled a beer out of the fridge. He pulled out a beer and started to open it, realizing that Annie couldn't do the same. He put the beer back into the fridge. "You had a few last night. Do you think..."

"It will be fine." Annie interrupted.

"There are so many little details."

"And big details. Auggie, we have to move to a bigger place."

Auggie nodded. "One step at a time. Let's see what the doctor says, then let's call Danielle. Or do you want to call Danielle now?"

Annie sighed. "I should go ahead and call her, but I'll do that later."

"Then we should plan a wedding." Auggie added.

Annie sighed. "The wedding is easy. If you are ok with it, let's have whatever family meet us here, or Glencoe, or California, wherever, in one month. I don't care about the festivities, I just want you."

"Is that what you really want? I don't want you to settle just because of the circumstances."

"I want you, Auggie."


	12. Laughter

_**I know this seems unlikely, considering I just started this story less than two weeks ago, but I actually just found a few snippets I stored on my Google Drive and forgot about. I found them when I was inspired to write this bit of fluff. Enjoy!**_

* * *

Auggie heard the bag rattling and reached out his hand. "Give me a brown one."

A small candy landed in his hand and he popped it into his mouth. He gave a look of disgust. "That wasn't brown."

Five year old Austin giggled from next to him. "You don't know that!"

"Oh yes I do!" Auggie replied. "The brown ones taste the best. Now you owe me two brown M&Ms, as payment for trying to trick your father."

Auggie held out his hand and two candies were quickly popped into his mouth. "Hmmmmm..." He said, as he sucked on the chocolates. "One of those is acceptable."

"They all taste the same, Daddy." Austin stated when Auggie held his hand out for another chocolate.

"Oh, you think so? Obviously your taster isn't as good as mine." He popped another candy in his mouth. "Maybe we will have to compare sniffers, too."

Auggie leaned close to Austin, making exaggerated sniffing noises. Austin giggled. Auggie pretended to sniff all over Austin's body, when he stopped at his belly.

"There it is." Auggie exclaimed.

"What?" The boy responded between giggles.

"You don't smell it?" Auggie asked, looking confused. There was a silence where Auggie assumed Austin was shaking his head. "Well right there..." Auggie put his finger on his boy's belly button "...I found..." He leaned over and looked toward his boy's face. "...RASPBERRIES!"

Auggie leaned down and blew into Austin's stomach while the boy squirmed and laughed. Auggie heard candy fall on the floor in the commotion.

"Oops, I didn't mean to spill you candy, kiddo." Auggie said as he sat back from Austin.

"It's okay Daddy." Austin said. Auggie could hear the smile on the boy's face when he spoke. The boy moved closer to his father. "I just have to get you back with tickles!"

Auggie pretended to fight as the child climbed on top of him and poked his fingers into his dad's sides.

"Oh no!" Auggie said melodramatically as he raised his arms above his head. Austin was laughing as he tickled. Auggie leaned to the side in mock-defeat.

"You got me." Auggie said as he laid on his back.

Austin tried to respond, but was too busy laughing. Auggie loved his laugh, and hoped Austin never grew out of this period of his life where he laughed so freely.

"That's okay, though. Because I'll remember this next time, when the sniffer investigates your candy supply."

"You want a M&M Daddy?" Austin asked, pretending to be sympathetic.

"No. I'll go get the dust pan to clean those up."

Auggie hoped Austin wasn't eating the candies off the floor as he walked to the closet. When he returned, Austin was on the couch, possibly picking candy from between the cushions.

"So where are all these M&Ms, kiddo?"

"On the floor, Daddy."

Auggie squatted down and began a well-practiced method of sweeping the area. He didn't find many candies, but Austin claimed there were none left on the floor.

When Auggie returned to the living room, Austin curled into his side. "Daddy, I lied earlier. Those weren't brown M&Ms. That bag only had pink and yellow ones."

"What?" Auggie asked in horror.

"They came from the Easter Bunny. They were special."

"Hm." Auggie huffed. "I knew they didn't taste like the brown ones."

Austin laughed and Auggie pulled him close for a hug, then gave him another raspberry just to hear him laugh again.


	13. The Recruit 2

Auggie and Annie were eating dinner in his office at Langley. Now that Austin was out of the house and they had both accepted positions of authority in the Agency, they found themselves at home, together, rarely. Tonight Annie had finished up her work and gone out to get food, and Auggie had just arrived to supervise a tricky mission on the other side of the world. He promised that they would be able to share a bed sometime in the next week.

"You know, if he wasn't our son, we would be angry that the Agency wasn't trying to recruit a talent like Austin." Auggie brought up the subject gently.

"I know." Annie replied with a tone that expressed she had been thinking about it, as well. "But think of how much we gave up for this. Do we really want that for him?"

Auggie swallowed the bite of food in his mouth. "I hate to say this, but I don't think it's about what we want for him at this point. He deserves the chance to decide for himself."

"But he doesn't know what that means. Nobody really knows what it means to take this job."

"He knows more than anybody. He has been on missions with us, he's missed us on holidays, he's even been pursued by a foreign Agency. Hell, Annie, there might not be any choice in the matter if other countries keep approaching him."

Annie groaned. "He's our baby."

Auggie smiled. "Which is why he could kick ass."

"I can't help but think-remember how everybody treated Jai Wilcox?" Annie asked.

Auggie hadn't thought about Jai in a long time. "Our child was not raised like Jai. At least I hope not."

"No, but he was raised by a spy, to be a spy." Annie countered.

"We didn't raise Austin to be a spy. If he becomes one, it's simply because we couldn't prevent it. Besides, half of Jai's attitude was because he craved his father's approval. I really hope Austin doesn't feel that way."

"He doesn't. I won't even insult you by comparing anything about you to Henry Wilcox."

"Good."

Annie sighed. "I guess it is only fair to talk to Austin about joining. I don't think he would be interested, but maybe he just acted that way because we have always been so adamant about it never happening."

"That's all I'm talking about. Let's find out if he is interested. Let him join the conversation."

"Do you want to take the train to Albany when you are done with this mission?"

"I do love the train." Auggie replied, with a wink.

...

Austin woke up to the knock on his door. He pulled himself out of bed and put on a pair of sweats and a tee shirt before walking into the living room just in time to see his parents breaking in.

Austin sighed. "You could have called. Like normal parents."

Auggie scoffed at the idea. "Weren't sure we were coming until the last minute. Are you just waking up?"

"Looks like it." Annie stated.

"It's been a long week. Had an assignment due at midnight, went out after. So yeah, I'm just getting up. Coffee?"

"I'll make some. Do you want to jump in the shower? We'll take you out to breakfast." Annie said.

"Lunch." Auggie corrected.

"Details." Austin said add he walked back toward his bathroom.

"He's totally hungover." Annie said when she heard the shower start running. "And he has disgusting coffee."

"We'll get him some good stuff after brunch. Can't fault the kid for unwinding a little, though."

"He looks a lot like you after a night on the town."

"Lucky boy!" Auggie said with a large smile.

...

Austin sat across from his parents, hugging a cup of coffee as if it was providing him life itself. "So," he said while looking at the other patrons, "Who's the mark?"

Auggie sat up against the back of the booth, one finger looped on the coffee mug on the table. "We're just here to see you."

Austin's eyes widened. He looked from his mom to his dad. "So, I'm the mark?"

"No." Annie replied. "There is no mark. We just thought, after last week, we would check in and see how you are feeling about things."

Nothing in Auggie's face betrayed Annie's words. They were a good team.

"Was something about that bigger than it seemed? Because it seemed like no big deal to me."

"It could have been a big deal." Annie replied.

"But it wasn't. I met some guy, I dropped something into his pocket, and I went on with my life."

"You wouldn't believe the number of people that freak out over doing something like that." Auggie explained.

"Seriously? I mean, if this is all your company does, you guys get far too much credit for badassery."

"What we're trying to say is that..." Annie stopped. "Auggie, what are we trying to say?"

Auggie sighed and spoke toward Austin. "Staying cool when you know a foreign government has approached you to investigate a company operative is a skill that can't be taught. Just after learning that, you sat in a company safe-house and did your homework while we analyzed data. Kiddo, we just wanted to see... to ask..." Auggie himself had a hard time getting to the point that he and Annie were trying to make.

"Are you trying to recruit me?" Austin asked, slightly shocked.

"The only reason you haven't been is that we have pretty much forbidden it." Annie explained. "We thought you would want to have a normal life, a normal career. But it's not fair to make those decisions for you, so we wanted to make sure that you knew it was an option."

There was a moment of silence, so Auggie spoke. "There is no pressure at all, either way. The company doesn't know we are having this conversation."

"Do I have to make a decision right now?"

"No." Auggie and Annie answered simultaneously.

"You need to think about what it means, though." Annie added. "You know more than anybody that it means you can never have a normal life, but there is more than that. You can't date foreigners, you are put in dangerous positions. I've been shot in the chest and your father was blinded, you could understand why we never pushed you toward this path."

"I get it." Austin replied. "I've thought about it a lot, and I've always wondered if I would be as successful at it as you. I just think..." Austin sighed. "It's just that you two were so lucky, and there can only be so much luck to go around. I would hate to waste my talents, though. I just, surely there are other ways?"

"Definitely." Auggie stated, almost too quickly. "You have a lot of strengths, and you can make a real difference in the world with or without sacrificing your independence. You mom and I, we both had our own reasons for joining the agency, reasons that I hope you don't have, yourself. We just wanted it to be your decision, in the end."

"Thank you, I guess." Austin replied. "I have no idea what I really want, but for now, can I just finish college, and go from there?"

"Certainly." Annie responded.

"And I'll make some phone calls and see what other career paths might be more... suitable?" Auggie added.

"Yeah. That would be nice." Austin replied. They sat in silence a moment before Austin perked up. "Hey, when we are done with this, I have a friend at the vet school that can let you stick your hand into the stomach of a cow!"

His parents looked horrified. "No thank you." Auggie replied calmly.

"Your loss." Austin replied.

"If you say so." Annie added.


	14. Pretending

Auggie got home late, which was becoming common. For the 4 years since Annie and Auggie had returned to Langley after their assignment in Turkey, they had been desk jockeys in some form or fashion that never allowed a steady schedule. They were considering asking for another long term foreign position just for a sense of normalcy.

Annie was half asleep when Auggie came to bed.

"Everything okay?" She asked as he climbed beneath the covers.

"Here it is. Out there, I have no idea."

"Radio silence?"

"For eight hours straight."

She didn't have to let him know that she understood the stress the silence caused. Every passing moment without communication from his operative was a decrease in the potential that they were going to ever be in touch. There was a time when Auggie wouldn't rest until he knew, for good or bad, the results. But the pull of his family was too much to spend day and night at work.

"Austin wants to have a sleepover." Annie told Auggie as she rubbed his back. She could feel the tension melting. He wouldn't be awake for long.

"Then let's have a sleepover." Auggie replied.

"Whenever I went on sleepovers, the cool moms cooked. There were cookies and games..."

"If you did all that, Austin wouldn't know who you were."

"Can we be ourselves around other kids? They are observant, you know."

"There are no state secrets sitting around here. I don't see any reason to put on a show for somebody else."

Admittedly, Annie had started massaging his scalp, and Auggie was having a hard time both staying awake and concentrating on the conversation.

"I mean, it's one thing for us to live on take out, frozen dinners, and eggs. But what will his friends think?"

"They will think it's a refreshing change from all the mothers that are stressed out from trying so hard." Auggie reluctantly pulled away from her relaxing touch to turn around and face her in the bed. "We put up too many acts in our lives to come up with a cover for an eight year old house guest. It will be fine. I'll make them pancakes."

"I love you so much. But your pancakes are horrible."

Auggie smiled. "Fine. I'll have them make pancakes. And they can watch you throw spaghetti on the wall. It will be an adventure for everybody. But we aren't pretending to be anything we aren't."

Annie leaned toward her husband and gave him a kiss. "Thank you." She said as she put one hand behind his ear and soothingly rubbed. "Mmmm. No probmmmm." He mumbled. She watched his features relax as he fell asleep.

* * *

**_I intended for this to be a lot longer, but I'll be away from my fic for a while, wanted to post something tonight, and this is the best I could do. _**


	15. Storm Watch

Austin rarely slept in Annie and Auggie's bed. This night, Auggie could hear him padding toward their room before he heard the reason why. As the little boy was wordlessly climbing up the foot of the bed to wedge between his parents, Auggie heard the first rumble of thunder far away.

The lightning must have been spectacular to have pulled Austin out of bed so soon.

Thunderstorms were becoming a special father-son time for Auggie and Austin. The lightning seemed to freak Austin out more than the thunder, and in his father's arms there was no danger in lightning. In his father's arms nothing existed until the thunder.

Feeling the bed depress between him and Annie, Auggie reached for his son. "Come here kiddo," he whispered. The little boy curled up to Auggie's side, laying his head on his dad's chest.

When lightning struck the little boy would flinch, and Auggie would sooth him with a quiet reassurance while he counted the seconds. It was an old habit that he slipped right back into when he had his little lightning alert in his arms. Auggie had always counted things. It was a habit that made him a good spy, and it came in handy as a blind man.

This storm was more peaceful for Auggie. Instead of the thunder crashing with sudden intensity, it came in a slow rumble that lasted for several seconds, as though he could see the lightning slowly traveling along the sky. But for the same reason that it was more peaceful for Auggie, it was terrifying for Austin.

But Austin was in his father's arms, so he knew that he would be ok. Somehow his Daddy knew whenever the room filled with light, and was saying something soothing in his ear, running his hand along his son's back. Austin wasn't afraid of the storms when he was in his father's arms.

This night, the storm was slow in every regard. When Austin first climbed in his father's arms the lightning was long before the thunder, which lazily grumbled in the distance. It took a long time for the sounds to get closer and more intense, echoing off the exterior of the apartment.

The rain told Auggie more about where they lived, sounding differently near the chimney and outside the window. The rain was hitting metal in some places, and he made a note to ask Annie what that could have been in the morning. As the storm intensified and the wind increased, he could hear the rain hitting the windows. Whenever these summer storms blew through, Auggie hoped their small Turkish apartment was well-built enough to withstand the winds. The windows rattled against the pressure, and without thinking, Auggie pulled Austin tighter.

A particularly loud clap of thunder woke Annie to the view of her boys. Auggie was laying on his back, his eyes wide open and his arm tightly around Austin, who was curled into his side. The boy looked calm, if not asleep. Auggie turned his head toward Annie. "Nice of you to join us." He said, quietly.

Austin looked toward his mother without creating any distance from his father. The room lit up with another long flash of light, closely followed by the long slow rumbles of thunder. Austin twitched with the lightning, and Auggie gave an almost identical twitch when the thunder sounded. "My two peas in a pod." Annie said with a smile.

As the storm moved away, Annie noticed Auggie tapping the seconds between lightning and thunder on Austin's back. A flash lit the horizon and Auggie didn't tap, so Annie assumed Austin had fallen asleep. After the next flash, Annie counted aloud until she was interrupted by the thunder and Auggie smiled.

"You missed a pretty spectacular storm." Auggie whispered to his wife.

"I think the two of you have the storm watch covered." Annie replied.

Annie curled on her side next to Austin, sandwiching him between his parents. She put her arm across her son and rested her hand on Auggie's chest, next to Austin's. As the rain tapered and the rumblings of thunder quieted in the distance, the three of them fell back into a peaceful sleep.


	16. Driving Lesson

_**Dear Readers - I know somebody else has covered this topic, but I promise I started this one before that. I've just held onto it for a while.**_

* * *

Now that Austin had his license and had been using it for over a year, he was used to driving his father to random locations. Today, however, seemed a little bit more random than normal.

"Where are we going?"

"Storage unit." Auggie replied.

"In Fredericksburg?"

"They are cheaper here."

"Not once you consider the cost of gas." Austin countered.

Auggie rolled his eyes. "Just follow the GPS."

Auggie and Austin chatted as Austin navigated to the storage center. "Okay, we're here. Looks like I need a key code."

"Four-six-nine-two." Auggie said. He heard the beeping of the buttons and the gate opening. "You are looking for unit number 178. One aisle to the right."

Austin drove slowly through the storage units and stopped in front of 178. "Okay. We're here."

"Don't park in front of this unit."

"Okay," Austin drew out the word as he pulled forward. "Dad, is this a mission?"

Auggie laughed. "Contrary to what you think, your mother and I do not always have an ulterior motive that is work-related."

"That wasn't a 'no.'"

"No. Sheesh, we do a lot of things that aren't for work."

"Really? Like what?"

"Your fifth birthday party."

Austin laughed a breath. "Yeah? So name another, between then and now."

"Your sixteenth birthday party." Auggie replied.

"I didn't have a party." Austin quipped back.

"Oh. Well, whatever else we did that day, it wasn't work related. And neither is this." Auggie handed Austin the key to the unit. He heard the lock open and the metal door roll up.

"What is this?" Austin said. All he could see was a car-shaped dusty canvas.

Auggie stepped forward and ran his hands over the cover. He gently reached down and pulled it up from the front of the car. He heard Austin gasp as the front of the car was revealed. Auggie stopped and smiled. "A Corvette?" Austin asked.

"Nineteen sixty seven. A true muscle car." Auggie said as he removed the cover and set it in the corner of the room. Then Auggie opened the driver's side door and sat behind the wheel.

"Dad? What are you doing?" Austin was a little scared.

"Chill out." Auggie said, a hint of irritation in his voice. "It's still on risers."

"Oh." Austin said. He walked around the car, taking in the pristine condition. "So, is this yours?"

"Yeah." Auggie replied. "It could pay your way through college. Your mom and I come out here once a year and clean it up, condition the surfaces, that sort of thing. And to crank it up and listen to this." Auggie turned the key and closed his eyes as he heard the rev of the engine.

Austin looked away from his inspection of the car to watch his dad. It was a rare tender moment where he seemed to be somewhere else in his mind. "Do you need a moment alone with her?" Austin asked, only half joking.

Auggie laughed. "Nah, I'm just enjoying the sound of that engine."

"It sounds loud."

Auggie took his foot off the gas and looked toward his son, horrified. "Loud? That is the sound of inhibited power."

"I have never smelled exhaust like this."

"Cars used to have exhaust fumes. It came with the uninhibited power. There were side-effects of course, which is why _this_ car is no longer street legal."

"It looks pretty awesome."

"Yeah." Auggie replied solemnly. He turned off the engine and looked toward Austin. "So do you want to drive it?"

"You just said it isn't street legal."

"Special use permit, it can be driven five times a year. Here's a tag." Auggie pulled a license plate out of his messenger bag and held it out to Austin.

"Then of course I want to drive it!"

Auggie smiled and got out of the driver's seat, handing the key to his son. He went to the passenger side and sat, running his hands over every detail in the interior.

Austin put the license plate on the back and sat in the driver's seat. Everything about the car was so much bigger and heavier than he was used to. "Is this the actual seat belt?" He asked.

"Yeah. Did I mention the 'uninhibited' part?"

Austin put his foot on the brake and turned the key in the ignition, and nothing happened. "Um, dad?"

Auggie looked toward Austin, confused. "Yes?"

"It won't start."

"Of course it will start, it just started for me."

"I just turned the key and nothing happened."

"Did you -oh no." Realization dawned on Auggie. "Did you hold down the clutch?" He asked, hopefully.

Austin realized why his father was looking a little upset. "I assume that is the third pedal that I've never used?"

Auggie thought he might be sick. He put his hand to his forehead and swallowed. "Yeah. yeah. Um. Crap. I really don't want you to learn to drive a stick on an antique transmission."

"Wouldn't all manual transmissions be antiques?" Austin asked.

"No, well, I don't know, I haven't really cared for a while. But some are old, rather than antique."

Austin was sad that he wouldn't get to drive the Corvette. "I'm a quick learner dad. You know I can do this."

"I'm not doubting you, Kiddo. It's just a delicate process, and I..."

"Please, Dad?" Austin asked with sincerity.

"Okay. Let me explain some things as we take her off the blocks."

While Austin and Auggie lowered the risers, putting the tires on the ground, Auggie explained the mechanics of a manual transmission. Austin understood the power of the different gears, as he had driven a car with a paddle transmission. But he had never operated a clutch. Once the car was on the ground, Auggie stepped toward the driver's seat again.

"I just - I can't imagine trying to operate a clutch without ever feeling it, so I'm going to show you once. You said it is clear in front of us?"

"For only twenty feet." Austin said, a little scared.

"I'm not going fast, I promise. You can steer." Auggie held his hands in the air after cranking the engine. "Now. Seriously. I'm taking the wheel just to keep it steady. I'm just catching the clutch to show you how it's done. Then it's all you."

"Okay." Austin said.

Auggie took his foot off the brake and the car started to roll forward. "Shit." He said very quietly before putting his foot back on the brake.

"We didn't go far, Dad. Didn't look like you-"

"I know. I just..." Auggie sighed. "I think we need more space." He pulled the emergency brake and put the car in neutral. "Swap with me."

Austin took the driver's seat. "Now, put your left foot on the clutch and right on the brake. Release the parking brake. Okay. Now take your foot off the brake and roll into the driveway to where you have a straight path."

When they finally got out into an open area, Auggie decided that as much as he would like to feel the catch of the clutch one more time, it simply wasn't worth the risk. Austin could do it.

"Okay. Just release the clutch as you give a little bit of gas. Feel where it starts to catch and -omph." Auggie definitely felt when it caught - they were moving forward. "Good job. Now go to second."

Within a half-hour the Corvette still had a working transmission and Austin seemed to have a feel of the clutch. "How comfortable are you feeling, Kiddo?" Auggie asked.

"I don't know, pretty good, I guess."

"Let's take it on back to storage."

...

They placed the cover back on the car and locked it up. Once they were on the way home Auggie explained. "I thought you might enjoy using the 'Vette to drive Clarissa to prom."

"Oh, dad, that would be awesome." Austin replied, not sounding as enthusiastic as he felt.

"But maybe we'll save it for your wedding day, instead."

Austin smiled. "That will be fine, dad. Maybe I can be better at driving it by then."

"Not your fault. Your grandfather would kill me if he knew I didn't raise my son to drive a manual transmission."

* * *

_**Another A/N: I had an accident that will severely impede my ability to write. I'm going to try to clean up some works already in progress and get them posted, but I have no idea how much writing I'll be able to get done on new stuff. So updates will be few and far between...**_


	17. Adult Time

**_This was a request from WillyNilly23 that was specific enough to write itself._**

**Age: 11**

Annie and Auggie's schedules just weren't working out. Auggie had to work until 6:00, getting home just after Annie left to take Austin to jiu jitsu practice. Just after Austin went to bed, Annie got a call to come into the office. The next evening Austin needed help with his homework, taking up most of Auggie's evening with intermediate algebra. As the boys finished up, Danielle called, and Annie was on the phone with her until long after Auggie fell asleep.

Life continued with this inadvertent sexual frustration for far too long.

Auggie finally had a bit of a private moment with Annie on Friday morning while Austin was getting ready for school. They were both ready to go to work, and he cornered her at the coffee pot. Quickly he pressed Annie into the island and kissed her with a passion that reminded both of them of the early days of their relationship.

"I miss this." Auggie said while briefly pulling back for air.

"We will have sex again one day." Annie replied, not knowing Austin had walked within earshot.

"Oh My God!" The boy exclaimed, ruining the moment.

Auggie jumped back, spinning to rest against the counter. Annie responded slightly more composed. "You weren't supposed to hear that." She stated.

"Don't worry. I'll be trying to forget this moment for the rest of my life."

"Are you ready to go?" Auggie asked.

"Yeah. Can you me one of those muffins behind you, and a bottle of brain bleach?"

"We were just kissing." Auggie said, not understanding the degree of his son's response.

"Your tongue was in her mouth!" Austin replied, as if that explained everything.

Annie was fighting not to laugh while Auggie tried to handle the situation. "That's the way your mom and I kiss each other. It's different from how we kiss anybody else."

"I'm never lettering somebody else put their tongue in my mouth!" Austin declared.

"I think you'll change your mind about that." Annie chimed in.

"No. I'm certain. Tongues are gross."

"If you say so." Auggie replied.

"Now that this life lesson is out of the way, we need to hit the road." Annie directed.

...

That evening, the family was all together. Auggie gently wrestled with Austin in the yard after work, showing the boy new techniques and being impressed by his growing skill. After dinner, they all sat in the living room watching a movie. Rather than using audio description, Annie and Austin randomly told Auggie what was going on. As he grew up, this would make Austin the most obnoxious movie companion ever, except with his father.

Auggie didn't care about the movie. His mind was on foreplay.

Annie was glad that Austin didn't notice her voice changing as Auggie's hands roamed her body, electrifying her nerves. Austin was focused on the TV, so he didn't notice Annie closing her eyes as Auggie discreetly gave attention to areas he knew would drive her mad.

Before things got too indecent around their child, Annie placed Auggie's hand back into his lap, and ended up giving him some of the same treatment.

When they noticed Austin nodding off, they rushed him to bed. As soon as they closed the door to his room, Auggie had Annie pinned to the wall of the hallway.

Things were moving fast, but Annie pulled back. "We don't want to wake him up." She whispered, and pulled Auggie through the doorway across the hall, into a bathroom. She shut the door and Auggie lifted her into the counter. He was just pulling Annie's shirt over her head when he heard the doorknob turning. Annie pushed him back and pulled her shirt back down in one movement before a very confused Austin appeared in the doorway.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" Annie asked before he could process what he saw.

"Didn't brush my teeth." He responded.

Annie and Auggie left the small room so Austin could enter. "Well we were just going on to bed. Be sure to turn the light off when you are done." Annie instructed.

"Okay mom." The boy replied, still somewhat stunned. But he reached for his toothbrush without asking anything else.

Once in their bedroom, alone, Auggie started to laugh. "Of all nights for him to be a stickler for hygiene."

Finally over the shock, Annie started to laugh as well. "Maybe we should take our time, in case there is any other reason for him to intrude."

"No. I want you now, and we have a lock on this door." Auggie replied as he clicked the lock. Fire burned in his eyes as he walked directly to his wife and pushed her back onto the bed.


	18. Birthday

Auggie stood by the crib, his hands resting on the fabric at the top. The textures that surrounded a baby were fascinating. One of the books he and Annie had read together said that it was important to have all the different stimulations for the baby's development. While they served their own purpose for the child, they were also entertaining for his father.

Auggie ran his hands over the soft padding in the crib, over the mattress and the various special pillows. There were many toys temporarily being stored in the crib, varying from smooth and round to fluffy creatures with long legs. He picked up what he assumed was a giraffe and messed with the legs a little bit before putting it back. Another was shaped like a frog, and made noises when pushed in the right place. Auggie really enjoyed the baby toys, though he warned their close friends and family that anybody who bought the child a drum set when he got older would be punished accordingly.

A mobile was installed over the crib, which Auggie handled gently. He and his brother had put the nursery together in the new apartment the week before. It had been a long frustrating day, but the satisfaction of helping do something to prepare for his son was worth it. Annie had cried when she saw the animal decorations on the wall for the first time. Then again, Annie had cried over just about everything for the past month.

Moving around the room, Auggie got to the rocking chair in the corner. A small blanket was draped over the arm of the chair. It was a comforting blanket that was both soft and durable.

He was running his hands over the changing table when Annie walked in. "Auggie, you've spent so much time in this room, you do remember that there is more to our new place, right?"

Auggie gave a distant grin. "It's just so real when I'm in here."

"This," she put his hand on her very swollen belly, "Doesn't seem real?"

"Would you have preferred I spent the past half hour with my hands on you?"

Annie laughed. "Want to play with all the wraps?" She asked. "We should probably master swaddling on inanimate objects before Kumquat gets here."

Auggie smiled. "Sure."

Annie stood closely beside Auggie while he pulled out the swaddling wrap and the babydoll that Danielle had given them months earlier. Her stomach pressed against his side. He carefully folded the wrap around the arms and legs of the toy child.

"All the limbs inside?" Auggie asked.

"It looks really good. Even better than my last try." As Annie spoke, the muscles of her stomach against Auggie tightened.

"Is that?" Auggie suddenly lost all color in his face.

"Yeah. Really far apart for the last two hours."

Auggie turned and put both hands on her stomach, feeling the muscles. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She said, though her voice showed she wasn't comfortable.

"Should I call the cab?"

"Not yet."

"We can't wait until it's too late."

"This takes a while. Do you want to spend more time at the hospital than necessary?"

"Whatever it takes." Auggie replied, completely serious.

"It takes time. We don't need to go for a while."

The look of concern was stuck on Auggie's face. "We just... Sit here and wait?"

"Yep. You've done that before. Pretend this is a mission."

"Babe, I leave a lot up to my own imagination. Not sure I can handle pretending you aren't in labor."

"It can't be all we think about. Let's think about... Have you had lunch?" Annie asked.

"Not really hungry."

"I am." She replied, then walked away to the kitchen.

Auggie followed with his hand along the wall. "Want me to heat up some soup?" He offered.

"I think we have stuff for sandwiches."

"Okay." Auggie started digging through the fridge to find sandwich fixings.

"Do you have your bag ready?" Auggie asked.

"Been ready for the past month." Annie responded. She noticed that instead of his usual cool demeaner, Auggie's hands were shaking as he spread the mustard. She smiled and walked up behind him.

"Auggie, it's okay. We are ready."

Auggie swallowed and tried to pretend it was true. "Are you sure the name is good? It feels a little pretentious, naming my son after me."

"Hundreds of millions of little boys are named after their father."

"There are a lot of pretentious men out there." Auggie replied with a smile.

"Nobody will realize 'Austin' and 'August' are both from 'Augustine' anyhow."

"We could have gone with Gus."

"No. We could not." Annie replied. "Besides, he'll be named after me, as well."

Auggie finished making the sandwiches and turned around. He leaned toward his wife's belly and have it a gentle rub. "Austin Walker Anderson, I am excited meet you."


	19. Scary Unknowns

Auggie and Annie were completely unaware of the fact that Austin knew they were hiding something from him. They severely underestimated the perception skills of the ten-year old.

Beyond just knowing that his parents were hiding something, he knew that it was different than all the other secrets parents usually kept from their children. This secret wasn't about toys that were hidden in the closet or a surprise visit from his cousins. This secret was different than any other secret his parents had kept from him.

The fact was, he was a little freaked out about it.

It started when they suddenly canceled the upcoming family move to Spain. Austin was excited about the two year position his parents were taking at a University in Barcelona. He was pretty good at Spanish, and he vaguely remembered the time they lived in Istanbul being lots of fun.

But one day the plans just changed.

His parents weren't specific about the change in plans, they just came home from work one day and told Austin that they were going to stay in DC for a little while longer. They explained that the research funding was cut for the project in Barcelona, and never brought the subject up again.

More than the words that his parents said, Austin noticed that their behavior had changed. His father was normally very tolerant when they were out together alone. It wasn't unusual for people to come and offer unsolicited help, and Auggie usually had a polite but stern way of getting them to back off. But after the move to Spain was cancelled, he was more edgy around strangers. Auggie and Austin had gone out for dinner one evening while Annie was working late. Auggie didn't have any of his usual charm with the waitress, who was slightly over-attentive. After they ordered, he got up to go to the restroom.

"You wait here, I know this place like our own home." Auggie said. It was true. Austin and his dad ate at this restaurant just about every time they were on their own.

Austin watched his dad carefully make his way to the back of the room, something that Austin had subconsciously started doing just like his mother. Just as Auggie was navigating around the corner to the door, a man grabbed his cane and pulled it in the direction of the restrooms.

"Over here," the man said.

Auggie jerked the object out of the well-meaning helper's hands. "Don't ever touch somebody's cane!" He said loud and with authority. For a moment Austin thought his father was going to use the cane to hit the other man. There was fury in his dad's features that Austin rarely saw, even though he had witnessed his father being "helped" far too many times. Auggie's voice had carried through the restaurant and the other customers had gone silent for a moment, watching the drama.

The man's face turned red and he mumbled "Just trying to help," as he walked away.

Despite his public annoyance, the edge in his father's attitude dissolved when they were at home, where he seemed to be more courteous and loving to Annie than ever. Austin was used to seeing his parents touch far more than other adults. It was necessary in their household. But he also had grown to learn the meaning of their touches.

Annie had a special way of laying her palm flat on Auggie that seemed to say "Stop." It was a standard sighted lead technique, but she used it in all situations. If he was talking about something and she wanted him to change the conversation, she would subtly give the signal on Auggie's leg. If he was about to say too much in front of their son, she might give it on his back. Occasionally, he had seen his father give the same signals to his mother.

But the signals that Austin saw now were all soothing. If his mother was in the room, his father made his way to her and gently rubbed his hand on her waist. Annie's responding touch would be calm and relaxing. Everything in the unspoken language between his parents seemed to say "It's going to be okay."

Austin didn't know what was wrong, but he was certain that his parents were worried.

He had never spent so much time with his aunt Danielle, but she met him at the bus-stop three days in a row. Danielle seemed slightly more cheery than normal, as if she were faking the emotion.

Then he was surprised with a trip to stay with his cousins near Chicago for a week. He was happy to go, as it got him away from the bizarre world his home life had become. Perhaps when he returned everything would be back to normal.

Austin thought about asking his parents what was up. They were usually very open with him, treating him as an equal rather than a child. Watching and living with his father, he learned that being surrounded by unknowns wasn't horrible, and that sometimes you just need to accept what you know and trust that the people that love you will tell you the important details.

On the third day at his cousin's house, Austin overheard the phone conversation.

"That's all it is?" His uncle said with a laugh. "Thank God, Auggie. I'm so glad she's going to be okay. So she isn't going to need surgery?"

After that moment, everybody seemed to go back to normal. Austin never found out what had been the source of his family's worry. When he got home, he gave his mom a big hug and pretended that they had been successful at keeping him in the dark.


	20. Peer Pressure

"Seriously Auggie? The positions in France would be three steps back for both you and your wife." Arthur stated.

"I think it would be good experience for both of us, and our family."

"Your family would be just fine here in DC. You and Annie are in the middle of a highly valuable investigation together. The two of you wouldn't even be working in the same department in Paris."

"Annie's language skills are wasted on this mission. She would gain leadership experience in Paris, getting to run a whole department."

"You know damn well that both of you would have your own divisions here in DC if you really wanted them. Stop pretending this is a career move. What is really wrong?"

Auggie sighed and pinched his lips.

"Have you even discussed this with your wife?" Arthur prodded.

Auggie hesitated a moment.

"Seriously Auggie, have you learned nothing from the mistakes that I have made over the years? You talk to your wife about these things before your supervisor!"

"Austin needs a change of scenery." Auggie finally revealed.

"Then take a couple of weeks and go on vacation. Something like Disneyland, like a normal family."

Auggie rolled his eyes. "A real change of scenery. I feel like he's getting caught up in too many things here, and Annie and I aren't able to keep a close eye on him, so to speak."

"And you think Paris would fix that?"

"Maybe." Auggie responded. "It would at least change the circumstances."

"Do we need to put a watch on him? Is it the type of trouble the Agency should be worried about?"

"No, sir. I think his trouble all comes in the form of other nine-year-olds."

Arthur's tone softened. "Auggie, you can't pick up your family and move it across the world just because of elementary school drama."

"It's not..." Auggie hesitated a moment, repositioning in the chair across from his boss.

"Auggie, speaking to you as your friend rather than your boss, this doesn't seem like you."

"Well the kid I'm living with doesn't seem like Austin, either." Auggie replied. "I don't know what else to do, Arthur."

"He's nine years old. All nine year olds are frustrating."

Auggie huffed. "Easy for you to say. You've never lived with one."

"True, but I know plenty of people that have, and they didn't have to move to France to survive."

Auggie bit back the response he wanted to voice. "Thanks for the chat. I'll get back to work now."

"Auggie, the school year is almost out, just send him to summer camp for a couple of months. Let him get it all out of his system. I'll have cover ops research some options."

"Yeah. That sounds good. I'd appreciate it." He spoke as he was getting up.

"Auggie, wait." Arthur called. "There's another reason I want you to stay close."

Auggie turned back towards Arthur, but didn't sit.

"Joan and I are planning to retire soon. Well, we're calling it retirement, though we will probably supplement our time with some consulting gigs."

"You're going green-badge?" Auggie said, in shock.

"Maybe your retirement fund is well-stocked, but Joan and I never thought we would live this long." Arthur replied. "My point is, when we make it official, there will be a lot of changes around here. Those that are close by will be more likely to benefit from those changes. I would hate to see you and Annie miss out."

"You know neither of us wants to go overt, Arthur."

"You've made that abundantly clear, Auggie. But other positions will open up. Opportunities that may be a good fit. The closer you are, the more your voice can be heard when it's time to speak for those positions."

"I understand." Auggie replied. "I appreciate the heads-up."

"This isn't public information, of course."

"Got it."

Auggie stood a moment, in case Arthur had anything else to add, then left the room without another word.

That evening was another frustrating one for Auggie and Annie, as parents. Austin had been punished in class for refusing to speak English during a class discussion. Evidently, he has started by replying to the teacher only in Turkish, then Spanish, and finally Swedish. His parents assumed the teacher didn't know any Swedish, since at this point all Austin knew, to their knowledge, was how to count to a hundred and a few choice curse words.

When they tried to discuss this with him, he insisted on only using sign language, which he had started to learn from one of his classmates. It was a level of inconsideration that Auggie had never experienced from his child before, and didn't expect until middle school at the earliest. When they finally got him to bed, Annie and Auggie sat on the couch with a beer.

"If he wants to pretend to speak Swedish, maybe we should send him to Sweden." Auggie said.

"In a crate, on the next flight out." Annie replied, equally frustrated. Auggie usually hid his emotions, but she could tell that the way Austin acted out hurt him.

Auggie sighed. "I asked Arthur for the Paris positions today."

He heard her beer bottle settle strongly on the spill platter on the coffee table. "You did what?" She asked, rather calmly.

"Forgive me for looking for extreme solutions. Arthur wouldn't even consider it."

"Damn right he wouldn't." Annie said as she picked the bottle back up.

"He said he would have cover ops look into summer camp options."

"That sounds good." Annie replied with a sarcastic tone. "Send him off to live with a bunch of other nine-year-olds for the summer, and see what other dirty tricks he can come up with."

"Maybe we could send him to summer camp in Sweden. It would take him at least a couple of weeks to learn enough Swedish to start to get bad ideas."

"Swedish is too easy. Maybe a summer camp in Korea would be more to our benefit."

They sat in silence, actually considering the idea. Annie started to tear up, thinking of going six weeks without seeing her son. Auggie was less emotional, but realized he couldn't be that type of parent, either.

"On second thought, maybe we could just send him somewhere to direct his energy for a week or two. A sports camp or something." Auggie suggested.

"Yeah. I like that idea. There may even be day camps in the area." Annie replied, her voice soft.

She ran her hand over Auggie's leg, then leaned in for a quick kiss. As she pulled away she said "We'll get through this, you know."

Auggie nodded, then laughed a breath. "Oh, certainly. The two of us aren't going to survive all that we have survived, only to be taken down by a nine-year-old boy, in the end."

"He's good at exploiting weaknesses. Maybe the Agency should be utilizing nine-year-olds for asset development."

Auggie grimaced. "I don't think the world is ready for such dirty tactics."

"You are right, as always." Annie said. She stood up and offered her hand. "Let's go to bed and rest up for the next day of having our weaknesses exploited, Agent Anderson."


	21. Summer Night

"This is just perfect. Thank you for letting the girls and me join." Danielle said as she sat with the rest of the adults at a table near the pool.

"Not a problem! Living this far north the pool doesn't get used nearly enough." Lucas, Auggie's older brother, replied.

"Are you sure you have enough space for everybody to sleep?" Danielle worried.

"We'll set up some tents out here later if we need to." Auggie replied.

"Your family gatherings are so much different than what we had growing up." Danielle said.

"This finally explains how your parents survived with five boys in the house." Annie added. The backyard of Lucas' house was larger than some of the inner city parks in DC. The pool was near the house, and a large grass area was behind the pool, currently filled with various games and toys for the kids of all ages.

"You have to have a lot of kids around for this to work. Just a few and they need constant attention." Auggie explained. "But with the older girls around, and all the other cousins, the kids entertain themselves and us adults are free to drink beer."

"I'm actually ready for something frozen and fruity. Danielle, you want a margarita?" Annie asked.

"Is everybody drinking already? Shouldn't somebody be the responsible adult?" Danielle asked.

"Don't worry. I've got an eye on them." Auggie said with a wink as he raised a beer bottle to his lips.

"I adore you, Auggie, but that's not making me feel more confident." Danielle responded.

"Sarah will be back in a few. She doesn't like to drink in the sun. Relax, Danielle. Have a cocktail." Lucas urged.

"Fine. But I'm taking it slow. We have too many kids around that can get into too much trouble." Danielle stated.

"Pscha. Katia and Chloe are hardly kids. They can be the responsible adults for the evening." Auggie declared.

Danielle finally laughed at Auggie's parenting lesson.

"Annie, I don't want one of those froo-froo drinks, but could you bring me another beer?" Auggie asked.

"Sure. Lucas, do you need a refill?"

"No thanks. I have to pace myself a bit more than my baby brother here."

"Everyone needs a special skill." Auggie drawled out.

"You have more than one." Lucas teased. "Won't take too much beer to get you on that diving board."

Auggie grinned. "Wouldn't take any. I just prefer to wait until the kids are out so I don't accidentally land on anybody."

"That's a good idea."

Annie came back out with the drinks. Auggie sipped on his beer, listening to the kids in the distance. "What are they up to?" He asked.

"Looks like an intricate game of tug-of-war." Danielle explained. "Katia and Chloe are probably creating rules and directing the others. I'm afraid my girls are a bit bossy."

"Mine need some direction." Lucas replied.

"Mine just needs some time with other kids. He's tired of vacationing with his parents." Annie explained.

"Even though we are awesome." Auggie added. "Since they are out there, I am going to cool off. Anybody else want to get in the pool?"

"I want to see what you can do off the diving board." Danielle said.

Annie agreed. "I'll help you to the board. Show us what you still have in you."

Auggie sat his beer on the table and accepted Annie's lead. The couple of beers in his system were enough for him to doubt his ability to navigate the diving board, but Annie helped him out and got him to the edge.

Auggie turned and took two long strides, pacing from the end. "Don't watch this one, I'm just getting my bearings." He said toward the other adults. Then he ran two steps and jumped high, touched his toes, and dove into the pool.

"Wow." Was all Danielle could say.

"Nice!" Annie said as soon as Auggie popped his head above the water. He was able to orient himself by her voice.

"That was just the warmup?" Danielle asked.

Auggie grinned as he pulled himself up the ladder. "Annie?"

"Right here." She meet him at the ladder and led him back to the diving board.

"Thanks dear." He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and climbed onto the board.

"Danielle, I hope you are watching. Because this is harder than it looks when you can't see which way is up."

"Okay, you have my attention."

Auggie took the two long strides, then flipped in the air and entered the water head-first. It wasn't a perfect dive, but it was impressive.

Seeing his dad from the distance, Austin came running toward the pool. The other kids forgot about their game and followed.

"Wow dad! That was cool! I want to try."

Auggie found the edge of the pool as he heard Austin on the board. "Try a good dive first." Auggie directed. He heard the attempt, but it sounded rather painful. A chorus of "ohhhh" came from the adults.

"Bellyflop?" Auggie asked.

"Yep." Annie replied.

"Luke, could you help my son with this truly important life skill?"

"Sure man."

Auggie got out and cautiously made his way back to the chairs with Annie and Danielle. He felt the table and found his beer still where he left it. Diving lessons weren't that interesting to listen to, but Annie gave him the important details of their seven-year old's lesson.

The children played in the pool for a couple of hours, occasionally talking the adults into joining them. There was a particularly good round of Marco Polo after they banned Auggie from playing. Even after a few beers, he was the best Marco of the bunch.

After hours in the pool, hotdogs, burgers, smores and chasing lightning bugs, the children finally settled in the basement to watch a movie and fall asleep and the remaining adults could party a little bit more heavily.

Danielle didn't even notice that Auggie had stepped away when he walked back with a bottle of Patron.

"Really Auggie?" Danielle asked.

"Really." He replied, his tone serious. "It's kind of a tradition."

Annie sat a plastic cup in front of Auggie, audibly close and empty. He poured several inches of tequila in the cup and replaced the stopper in the bottle.

"To family." Auggie said, holding up the cup before putting it to his lips.

"Is the tradition that we watch you get blitzed?" Danielle asked.

Auggie pulled the cup away and held it to his right. "Sip and pass." He explained.

Annie took a quick gulp and handed to cup to her sister.

"Oh," Danielle replied, then she held the cup to her mouth before passing to her right.

"Did she actually drink anything?" Auggie asked nobody in particular.

"Just more for us if she didn't." Lucas replied.

"Busted," Annie said, quietly, to her sister.

"It's okay Danielle." Auggie stated. "I'll only think a little less of you."

"Fine," Danielle huffed. "Pass it back."

Danielle took the cup and drained it off the remaining contents. She loudly set the empty container back in front of Auggie. "Happy?"

Auggie grinned and raised his eyebrows as he found the cup. "Good job." He replied.

"What now?" Danielle asked.

"More of the same until one of you guys start to entertain me." Auggie responded as he poured more tequila.

Danielle glared toward Auggie while he handed the cup to his brother. "Don't worry newbie." Lucas said to Danielle. "Odds are that he'll entertain us, instead."

"By kicking your ass." Auggie stated.

Lucas openly stared at his brother for a moment. "Haven't threatened me with that in a while."

Auggie grinned. "We haven't seen much of each other, so to speak."

"Wouldn't want to run you off by embarrassing you in front of your wife's family."

Annie and Danielle watched this exchange with interest. "Why don't we find other ways to entertain ourselves?" Danielle asked.

"What do you have in mind?" Auggie asked.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." Auggie replied with a grin, starting the game.

"Are we back in middle school?" Annie asked, getting a nod of agreement from Lucas.

"I'm just curious what she would dare me to do." Auggie replied with a shrug.

"Probably going to involve the diving board." Annie replied.

Her idea did involve the diving board, and before long all of the adults were back in the pool. Even Danielle, who didn't have a chance to change into her suit, ended up in the water. They played like the kids had, earlier in the day, with carefree abandon brought about by liquor and the temporary lack of responsibility. Danielle laughed more than Annie had heard from her in years. She was a little concerned that Auggie would be covered in bruises the next day, just from his encounters with various body parts and the edge of the pool.

Annie swam up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. He spun around and lifted her up for a kiss. Then he pulled away and dunked her under the water.

"You are having way too much fun with this." She stated.

"Oh no, I'm having just the right amount." He replied, his voice quiet and sensual compared to the long ago day in Barcelona of their original exchange.

Just as the words came out of his mouth, Lucas pushed a wall of water into Annie and Auggie. "Get a room!" He shouted.

Auggie turned and jumped in the direction of his brother, completely missing him and getting tangled in one of the rafts littering the pool. He stopped to regain his bearings as his brother swam to the deep end. "Straight ahead at your two o'clock!" Annie guided him. Auggie lunged forward and swam a few strokes before his brother moved again.

"To your left!" Annie guided. Lucas threw a raft in his way.

They continued this chase for a little while before Lucas greeted Auggie by pushing his head under water. Auggie responded by grabbing his legs and flipping him under. He was repositioning to continue the fight when he came back hard onto the edge of the pool with a grunt.

Lucas, struggling to catch his breath, stepped out of arms reach and asked "You okay bro?"

"Yeah," he replied unconvincingly, pulling himself up to sit in the edge of the pool.

"Auggie, I've never seen you so uncoordinated." Danielle stated.

Auggie looked offended. "I thought I was doing pretty well."

"You were." Annie replied before her sister could put her foot in her mouth.

"You two make a good team." Danielle added. "I can just imagine what it must have been like-"

Annie shot Danielle a glare that immediately shut her up.

"When?" Lucas asked.

"Chicken fights in the lake, when we lived in Turkey." Annie supplied.

"I bet you guys would be good at that." Lucas responded as he got out of the pool. Danielle followed and wrapped herself in a towel.

Annie stayed in the pool with Auggie's legs wrapped around her body. "Let's run through the grass." She whispered as she took a sip from the cup of tequila and handed it to Auggie.

"Okay," he replied. Annie ducked out of the grip he had around her body with his legs and climbed up the edge of the pool.

"I'm going to bed." Danielle announced.

"Yeah, I'm headed that way, too." Lucas stated, eyeing the couple on the edge of the pool.

"Good night!" Annie said with slightly too much cheer.

Auggie stood up and pulled Annie to her feet. "Point me in the right direction." He said, seductively, into her ear.

She walked to the edge of the concrete, navigating around random pool toys along the way. When his feet hit the soft ground, Auggie let go of Annie and ran forward at full speed.

Noticing he was headed straight toward one of the few trees she shouted "Left!"

Rather than turning, Auggie stopped. He waited for Annie to get close. He pointed to his left. "Can I go a good ways in this direction?"

Annie pulled his arm to a slightly different angle. "No promises that the kids didn't leave something out there I can't see. It's a new moon tonight, good and dark."

Auggie nodded, positioned himself in the direction she pointed, and ran forward with his arms to his sides. He was doing well until his foot landed on an uneven area and he fell in the grass. Annie wasn't far behind.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Great." He replied. "Join me?" He patted the ground next to him.

Annie sat, and Auggie pulled her to lay down. The thick grass was soft, if a bit itchy. He was still catching his breath.

"Its a clear night."

"Are the city lights too bright to make anything of it?"

"No worse than at home. There are plenty of stars bright enough to enjoy."

Auggie kissed the top of her head. They enjoyed a moment of peaceful silence together.

"This is nice." Auggie said.

"Are you saying we should visit your brother more often?"

Auggie groaned. "We need to drink in an open field more often."

"So... hang out at a local high school?" Annie joked.

"We would be the coolest parents in town."

"You wanna sleep out here?" Annie asked.

"It's kinda itchy. Hope there are enough lights for you to get us back to the house, because I'm a bit disoriented."

"Oh yeah, we're fine." She responded.

"But let's stay right here just a moment longer." He said, before rolling on top of her.

"Okay." She replied, when he finally let her take a breath.


	22. The jog

"You guys just don't understand!" Austin shouted. He had tears in his eyes as he stood up, stomped to his bedroom and slammed the door.

"Wow," Auggie said.

"Yeah. Evidently he was more invested in that relationship than we thought." Annie replied.

Auggie sighed. "Should I go talk to him?"

"Let's give him a few minutes to cool off."

"They have only been together a month, right?" Auggie asked.

"I've been trying to give him privacy." Annie responded. "But, yeah. They've only been together for a month." They told themselves that it was a matter of national security to invade their teenage son's privacy, but what it really came down to was that they were spies, and wanted to know.

"Hm." Auggie replied.

"Don't act like this is a big mystery to you. We both know who passed along this tendency to fall fast and hard."

Auggie gave Annie a confused look. "Says the woman that was scorned to the point that she joined the CIA after a three week relationship."

Annie blinked at Auggie. "We're going to be lucky if he isn't married by the time he's twenty."

Auggie laughed a breath. "So what do we do?"

"You go talk to him about taking it slow when it comes to girls."

Auggie sighed. "Okay."

He carefully walked to Austin's door and knocked.

"What do you want?"

"May I come in?" Auggie asked.

It was quiet a moment. "Okay." Austin replied.

Auggie opened the door and stood in Austin's doorway.

"The path is clear if you want to come inside." Austin guided. It wasn't unusual for his room to be littered with tripping hazards.

Auggie took a few steps forward and sat next to his son on the bed. "I just want you to know that I know how you feel." Auggie started.

Austin snorted in response. It reminded Auggie of his wife. "You can't possibly know how I feel."

"Why would you say that?"

"You have mom. You guys are perfect."

Auggie smiled. "We were almost twice your age when we met. There were a lot of relationships before that."

Austin thought a moment. "But Sarah was-"

"Special?" Auggie interrupted.

"Perfect."

Auggie nodded. "I know what you mean."

"Of course you do. You have mom."

Auggie's face was serious. "Before your mom, there were a lot of women that I thought were perfect. I didn't know what I was missing until I met her."

"I'm not following, dad."

Auggie sighed. "Do you know your mom wasn't my first wife?"

Austin was silent a moment. "She wasn't?" He asked, his tone full of disbelief.

Auggie shook his head. "Before my accident, when I was too young to know better, I was in Europe a lot, for work."

Austin rarely got to hear stories of his parent's past. He stared at his dad as he talked.

"There was a woman I was working with, at the time. I was in love with her. We got married quickly. Within six months, she left me."

"What?!" Austin asked, shocked.

"That's life, buddy. It hurt like hell." Auggie felt a little bad leaving out the part about how he thought she was dead.

"So what did you do?"

Auggie thought a moment. "I focused on my work."

"So..."

"You should focus on school, and release the rest of your frustration at the gym. I highly recommend punching the heavy bag."

Austin sighed. "I just can't imagine somebody that gets me like she did."

"I felt that way with many women before your mother. I never knew how wrong I was. But I learned that the important part is to give everything time. If it's meant to be, she will be there in a month, six months, or even years later. Do you know how long your mom and I were friends before we even kissed?"

"But that was different." Austin mumbled.

"Because it was the start of something big."

Austin thought about his dad's words. "You say working out helps. You want to go on a run with me?"

Auggie looked up in shock. He had never gone running with his son. He didn't run much anymore. "Now?"

"Yeah, to clear my mind."

"I'll hold you back." Auggie stated. Austin was turning out to be quite the athlete.

Austin shrugged. "I don't mind."

"Okay." Auggie said as he stood up. "I'll go change."

When Auggie walked into the living room, Annie was giving their son instructions. "I think he decided that watching you fall off curbs would take his mind off Sarah." Annie said.

Auggie grinned. "I do what I can to keep my family happy."

"Thanks dad."

"Just remember that I haven't done much running since your uncle moved away."

"I'll take it easy on you."

"Did your mom get the string?"

"Yep." Austin replied. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Let's go ahead and do this." Auggie took the string Austin placed in his hand, which would keep him close to his guide while having freedom to move.

Annie gave Auggie a quick kiss on the cheek and they walked out the door. She watched as father and son jogged out of sight. They were already picking up speed as they went around the corner toward the park.

A half hour later a refreshed teenager and his out of breath father returned to the house.

"I think I broke him." Austin said to his mom.

Auggie gave an insulted look toward his son as Annie pushed a glass of water against his hand. "He's fast." Auggie said to his wife.

"You haven't been off the treadmill in two years." Annie stated. "I would seem fast."

"Hey! I'm in better shape than that."

"Yes, but you haven't been able to really run recently."

"Dad did great." Austin clarified as his dad sat on the floor to stretch. "We did a lot of sprinting through the park."

Annie smiled. "You guys should do that more often."

Auggie looked up from his stretches. "I'll go whenever he wants."

"It will be nice for somebody else to complain about you holding them back, the way you always complained about me." Annie said.

"Just remember that it's not fair to pick on your old, blind father." Auggie said.

"Sure thing, dad." Austin replied. He patted him on the shoulder as he went to his room with a bounce in his step.

When Annie was alone with Auggie she looked down at him. "You have fun?"

"I really did." He said as he stood up. "But I'm afraid I'm getting old."

Annie watched her husband stand up and stretch his long lean frame. "I think you are ageing nicely, Mister Anderson."

Auggie walked over to her and dropped his voice. "Does that mean you won't be giving me a sponge bath later?"

She ran her hand over his chest. "How about you shower on your own, and I cook you some dinner?"

Auggie pouted. "I'd be fine with Lucky Charms if it means you'll come shower with me."

Annie laughed. "I'm afraid of the precedent that would set. I'll make it up to you later, okay?"

Auggie leaned in and kissed her mouth. "Now you're going to worry about setting a precedent for showering together?"

They rested their foreheads against each other.

"Yeah. If you start running together everyday, that's a lot of showers."

Auggie smiled and gave Annie another quick kiss before walking away.


	23. Festivals

Austin didn't really understand who Dizzy Gillespie was, but he had been around Europe with his parents enough to know that any "Festival" meant that there would be lots of interesting people around, and food that the Andersons didn't normally keep in their Istanbul apartment.

This didn't keep Auggie from trying his hardest to educate his son on why he should be particularly excited about the upcoming Jazz Festival. Every evening for the past week he had set up a playlist of performers that were coming to town, playing it for his family while they went about their evening routine, and explained to his son what they were listening to.

Being just over three years old, Austin wasn't catching much of it, but he liked Dizzy's name.

"If you are planning your schedule around your son, you should probably pick the performers with the most interesting names, and wildest hair."

"Not true! He already has real preferences. He laughs more when I play Moddi, dances with I play Dizzy-"

"DIZZY!" Austin exclaimed, as he always did when that name was said. Auggie couldn't help but smile in response.

"...and he goes to sleep much faster when I have Brun playing in the background."

"So are we going with shows that will make him laugh, dance, or sleep?" Annie asked.

"All three. Wear him out, make him smile, and knock him out." Auggie replied.

"I'm putting this in your very capable hands." Annie said with a smile.

"It's going to be awesome."

Two days later, Auggie was more giddy with excitement than the child that was running laps around the couch. "Come on, Annie!" He called through the apartment.

"Hold on. I have to pack up a bag for Austin." She said as she walked into the room.

"I already did that." He said as he felt for the bag on the counter and held it out to her.

Annie looked inside to find that Auggie had packed everything they needed for the day. "When did you do this?"

"I'm four cups of coffee in to my day. Let's go." He said with a smile.

Annie gathered Austin and as a family they walked out onto the street. Auggie told Annie about the first destination and they headed that way.

The crowds for the first band were small, so Austin was free to run around and dance in the grass. There were some other kids, and he started to play and dance with them. Meanwhile, his father was enjoying the live music.

"The things he does with that trumpet." Auggie said.

"Actually, the trumpet player is a woman." Annie clarified.

A moment flashed across his face, one that Annie recognized as him re-structuring his view of the situation. He was getting things like this wrong a little more often as he got older. "Is she hot?" He asked with a smirk.

"Oh yeah," Annie lied.

Auggie took a moment to listen to the horn as he imagined the person creating the sound. There were no vocals in this band, so there was nothing for him to use to give them any identity beyond their music. He wasn't sure if it mattered, but he was curious.

"The band is all women." Annie said, close to his ear. "They look very serious about their music."

"Thanks," He said quietly.

Annie gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She tried to be careful about the public displays of affection, since they were in a Muslim country. But sometimes she couldn't help it.

The next act had more to hold Austin's attention on the stage, so he sat on his dad's shoulders. Father and son swung with the music, and Austin laughed.

As predicted, Austin fell asleep after they ate lunch and moved to the third band. Annie placed a blanket on the grass and sat with Auggie while Austin slept to their side. The acts later in the day were more popular, and the venues were becoming more crowded.

The small family headed home before dinner, but repeated the fun the next day, and for several years even after they moved back to the States.

* * *

"Dad, that's the weekend before finals. There's no way I can go to New Orleans."

"You can study on the plane. Come on! This is Jazzfest. You know you want to spend the weekend leading your father around."

"Dad, you know I want to go to Jazzfest. Why not two years from now, when I'm out in the real world with real vacation time?"

"Because nothing about the future is certain, and who knows where you will be working and what vacation time they may offer."

"Is that why mom isn't going with you?"

"With those deduction skills it's amazing you have to study at all!"

Austin sighed. "If I can't get into grad school because I blew my finals, you know I'll end up at your company."

"If it keeps you from working at my company I'll hack the system and change your grades. Your flight leaves tomorrow at noon. I'll get in a half hour before you and be waiting at the baggage claim."

The New Orleans airport was busy, filled with middle aged men wearing tacky shirts covered with crawfish. Austin felt out of place in his polo shirt and blue jeans, until he walked up to his dad who was wearing the exact same outfit.

"Excuse me sir, but do you need assistance?" He asked when he walked up to Auggie, sitting on a bench.

Auggie removed the one earbud he was using to listen to local news and turned toward the voice. "No thank you. I was planning to wait for some lady with a sexy voice to come by and offer."

"Does mom know about this plan?" Austin asked with a smile.

Auggie smiled. "I have to have some secrets from her." He pulled Austin into a hug. "Glad you could come."

"I'm glad to be here." Austin replied. "Need any help with your bag?"

"Nope. You just lead the way to a taxi. I can't wait to smell Bourbon Street."

"Ew." Austin replied. He had never been to New Orleans, but he knew that Bourbon Street wasn't a popular smell.

Auggie and Austin quickly checked into the French Quarter hotel. The room was small but clean.

"So, do you have one of those obnoxious crawfish shirts to change into?" Austin asked.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about." Auggie replied.

"Lucky you." Austin said. Then he described the shirts he saw ever since he landed at the airport.

"I hope I've never worn one of those." Auggie commented.

"Mom wouldn't do that to you." Austin replied. He pulled a t-shirt from his bag and changed, no longer wanting to completely match his father. "So what's on the agenda for tonight?"

"Liquor, food, maybe check out some of the bar bands?"

"I'm under age, dad."

"Nobody here cards. But just in case..." Auggie handed him a fake ID that matched his real one perfectly, adding one year.

"Now you decide to use your powers for good."

"I want that back at the end of the weekend. And if you give me your library card, I'll know."

"What's a library card?" Austin asked.

Auggie rolled his eyes and extended his cane, walking to the door.

The father and son pair had a great night wandering the streets of the French Quarter taking in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes that it had to offer. They heard a few local musicians and drank a little bit too much rum before crashing for the night.

Austin had seen his dad drink plenty of times before, but this was the first time they had gone out without his mother around. Austin noticed that his father leaned a little more heavily on his arm than normal on the way back to the hotel. Once in the room, he was just a little bit less sure of himself as he got ready for bed. A stranger may not have noticed the difference, but Austin had seen his dad perform these simple tasks hundreds of times before and knew this time was different.

The next morning the men woke up early to the calm insistence of Auggie's alarm.

"How do you feel about chicory in your coffee?" Auggie asked, still laying in bed.

"What is a chicory and why would it be in my coffee?" Austin replied.

"I guess you are about to find out. Let's get ready."

Auggie directed Austin to a coffee shop a few blocks away where they got some pastries and some of the local chicory coffee. Then they found a cab to take them to the fairgrounds.

They started at the Gospel tent, then spent time at all of the stages, listening to the wide variety of performers. They avoided the large stage, featuring the big name performers, in favor of the lesser known acts.

Mid-day they sat on the grass eating crawfish, reminiscent of their trips to the Istanbul Jazz festival from years past, eating oysters. The crawfish were messy and tedious, but Austin had never tried them in the shell, and Auggie was trying to get in as much of the New Orleans experience for his son as he could. They washed them down with cold beer and spicy boiled potatoes.

"This is a lot of fun, dad."

"I know, kiddo. I'm glad you came."

"Want to do it again next year?" Austin asked.

"We'll see about my vacation time." Auggie said with a wink.

* * *

_**There are some joys of writing, where you start a story with a three year old in Turkey and end up on a father-son drinking binge in New Orleans. No idea how that happened, but there you go. **_


	24. Conference

**_Plot bunny from WillyNilly23_**

When Annie stepped out of the debrief, Auggie was waiting in the hallway.

"Just in time." He said.

"What did I forget now?" Annie had been going non-stop for the past month. Auggie had been keeping up with all of her responsibilities, both at work and at home.

"We have to get to the school for the parent-teacher conference." He said with a smile.

"Oh my God, that's today?" Annie looked down at her clothes. She was dressed as any typical Washington businesswoman, except her left side was covered in dirt and she was still picking leaves out of her hair. "I have to change."

"We don't have time for you to change."

"How do I explain that in the middle of my workday as a Professor at Georgetown, I look as though I took a roll in the mud?"

A grin spread across Auggie's face. "The teacher will take one look at your super-sexy husband, and never question where and when you might take a roll."

Annie rolled her eyes and gave him a light push as they walked toward her car. She threw her jacket in the back seat and rolled up her sleeves. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, hoping that would hide any leftover debris she hadn't plucked out. In the car, she checked to see that she looked okay while they were at stop lights on the way to the school.

Just in time, Annie and Auggie walked into the classroom where Ms. Elliott, Austin's second grade teacher, was waiting.

"Mister and Misses Anderson! Good to see you, have a seat." She greeted.

Annie directed Auggie to the children's sized chairs across from the teacher. Auggie propped his foot on his knee, as though he always sat in chairs that were slightly too small. The young teacher gave a saccharine smile toward the couple from her adult-sized seat.

"Nice to finally meet you." Annie stated, putting on her sweet tone and warm smile.

"Same here. I've had a few occasions to meet Mister Anderson, but it's nice to finally meet the rest of Austin's family.

"I've been traveling a lot." Annie explained.

"Is that so?" Miss Elliott looked over Annie's disorganized attire. She also ran her eyes over Auggie.

With the moment of silence, Auggie jumped into the conversation. "Is everything going well for Austin?"

The young teacher snapped out of her assessment of the parents before her. "I know that you follow Austin's grades in our online system, but there is a lot that doesn't come through in the grades, particularly at his age."

The young teacher fidgeted.

"Are you saying there are behavioral problems?" Annie asked.

"Not specifically." The teacher responded. She was evaluating Annie with her eyes.

"What, specifically, have you been observing?" Auggie said. His tone was calm and direct, snapping the teacher from her evaluation of Annie.

"His approach to things is very different than most children. He's a very unique child."

"He's got a blind father and has traveled to more places by second grade than most people do in their whole life. Is there a problem with his unique behavior?"Auggie asked.

"Tell me a little about Austin's home life." The teacher said.

"We would prefer you tell us about his life at school." Annie replied with the tone she usually reserved for interrogations.

Ms. Elliott was taken back for a moment but swallowed and went on. "I just worry that he may alienate himself from the other children. He's not exactly aggressive, but he is rather physical. Does he have older siblings at home?"

"No." Auggie replied. His glare slightly unnerved the young teacher.

"It's just that he really dives in when he has a chance to physically interact. He can be kind of rough sometimes."

Annie and Auggie both stared at the young teacher, slightly disturbing her. "Auggie, did you have anything to do with this?" Annie finally said, turning toward her husband.

"We've wrestled a little, but it's not like I've introduced him to the heavy bag or anything." Auggie said to his wife.

Ms. Elliott had taken in Annie's battered appearance. The blond woman looked like she had been in an altercation or two recently.

"Has Austin witnessed any violence?" She asked. Her stare stayed fixed on Annie, hoping the woman would feel comfortable giving her a sign if things were not okay at home.

"Not at all." Auggie quickly answered.

"What are you implying?" Annie asked, noting the teacher's not so subtle attempts to get Annie's attention.

"Just that children imitate what they see at home, so whenever a child is unusually physical..."

"You think we abuse him?" Auggie asked, practically spitting the words.

Despite the fact that the teacher was sitting in a chair so much higher than the former soldier, she had to fight to sit up straight and respond. "I have no reason to think that."

"She thinks you abuse _me_." Annie explained, calmly.

Auggie rolled his eyes and raised his hands up in frustration. "Of course." He said calmly.

"What am I supposed to think, with her sitting in front of me looking as if she came straight from a fight and your son acting as though he's seen, if not participated in, hand to hand combat?"

Auggie plastered a look of concern to his face and looked toward his wife. "You look like you came from a fight?" He asked.

Annie pretended to be exasperated. "I was helping Jeannie with her car at lunch. I forgot we had this today, and I guess I do look a little rough."

"You have a bruise on your neck." Ms. Elliott said.

Auggie looked at Annie with concern. "Your neck?" He asked.

Annie quickly pulled her hair out of the ponytail and hid the mark. "Yes dear," she said very sweetly. "You left a bruise on my neck."

Auggie raised one eyebrow, then relaxed into a grin. "Oops," He said very playfully.

"Is everything okay?" The teacher asked. She wasn't sure what to make of the exchange.

"In my defense, she usually leaves me with the hickey." Auggie explained.

Annie watched the teacher's face turn a dark shade of red and gave her a slight shrug. "I appreciate your concern for my well-being Miss Elliott. Auggie would never intentionally hurt me, or Austin."

"I enjoy teaching Austin some wrestling moves."

"And, as you might imagine, our family is a bit more hands-on than most." Annie added.

"I see." She replied.

"Is he being a bully?" Auggie asked with genuine concern.

"Not at all. If anything, he's going after the bullies."

Auggie nodded in understanding. "We'll talk to him about this, and in the meantime, let us know how it continues, so we can address it at home."

"Certainly, Mister Anderson. I apologize for the misunderstanding. You have never been anything but a gentleman here at the school. It's just that there were a lot of signs, and I worry about my students and their families."

Auggie smiled. "I appreciate that you take such an invested interest. Austin seems to really be enjoying your class."

"Thank you, I enjoy having him here. I hope to have him teach some of the other children some Turkish later this year."

"He's also coming along well in French, if that's easier to integrate." Annie suggested.

"Perhaps," she responded. "You truly are a remarkable family."

"Thank you." Auggie replied.

A few minutes later Annie was leading Auggie back to the car. "That was close." She said.

Auggie grinned. "Do you really have a hickey?"

"Nope, sorry. These bruises are all from the mission."

"Damn." Auggie replied. "I was so proud."

Annie nudged him with her elbow. "You were about to be proud in the custody of Social Services."

Auggie raised his eyebrows. "I haven't had a good interrogation recently. That was kind of fun."

Annie laughed and placed his hand on the car door. "Your ideas of fun always amaze me, dear."

"It's why you love me." He said tenderly.

"Oh course."


End file.
